I am NOT Bell Cranel [Danmachi - Bell SI]
By: PsylentFox
[NSFW] - I am NOT Bell Cranel [Danmachi - Bell SI] by PsylentFox
Status: ongoing
Published: 2022-02-21
Updated: 2023-03-26
Words: 179795
Chapters: 17
Original source: https/forum./threads/17668
Exported with the assistance of
I am NOT Bell Cranel [Danmachi - Bell SI]
Introduction
Chapter 1 - New Beginnings
Chapter 2- Year One
Chapter 3 - Overconfidence Can Be One's Undoing
Chapter 4 - Walls Are Hard to Climb Without Help
Chapter 5 - Progress and Possible Un-Progress
Chapter 6 - Enemy Action
Chapter 7 - Foundations for Crafting
Interlude - Prelude to Darkness
Chapter 8 - Preparation Part I
Interlude - Asfi/Hephaestus
Mini-Chapter: Messing Around with Mystery
Chapter 9 - Hard Work
Interlude - Riveria Ljos Alf
Chapter 10 - Departure
Chapter 11 - Waiting for Nee-Chan
Interlude - Hermes
Chapter 12 - Colosseum Preparations
Chapter 1 - New Beginnings
A/N: So, I wanted to do something different for my birthday. Heavily inspired by To Be Bell Cranel by Lord Mammon Asmodeus- the concept was just too cool to pass up on! Hi, LMA!
Decided to post this since I was taking different routes with W,TEQ and YS:SoTtA. Switch things up a little bit. No fancy cheat codes or Cheater Skills here my friends, just a normal dude who has to make due with the tiny body he's been given.
First chapter is told from the outside perspectives of others, and then the next chapter will get in with our wonderful SI.
Hope you guys enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it!
(As for why this wasn't posted in the snippets thread? This was easily going to exceed the 40K limit with how my muse has been running with it at 100 miles and hour; it was so interesting that I had a hard time sleeping! lol)
[Grandpa - Zeus, God of the Zeus Familia]
Bell Cranel was a good boy.
A kind boy.
A boy with a smile so bright that it would give Amaterasu's brilliance a run for her money.
His ruby red eyes sparkled like the stars in the sky when Zeus would regale him with tales of Legends, Myths, and the Heroes of Old. When Zeus read to him from books and stories of comedies both happy and tragic, the boy never ceased to amaze him with how he managed to sympathize with even the villains of the tale; the boy always choosing to see the good in everyone, even those who had only the most evil of intentions.
Thankfully, he still managed to work out on his own that sometimes evil simply could not be reasoned with, so that at least removed that particular worry from the God of Thunder's shoulders.
It worried him somewhat, if Zeus was being honest, but to see his "grandson"- the product of love between his most "cowardly" Child and that of the kindest, sweetest, most tender Child of Hera's familia- there was no doubt in his mind that Bell Cranel would go up to become something special.
He laughed, he played with the other children in the village, he listened to Zeus' advice on how to get a girl's attention with the wide-eyed innocence of a young boy who thought that puberty was a literal 'Journey of Discovery' and a woman's 'peach' was a juicy fruit.
He complained when he had to work the fields and threw little temper tantrums when he had to go to bed as the sun was setting despite the fact he would fall asleep the moment his head hit the pillow.
He was everything his father and mother would have ever wanted from their white-haired, red-eyed "little dreamer".
However, that all changed when Bell took a particularly bad tumble in the field and conked his tiny noggin' on a rock that had been unearthed by the heavy rainfall the fields closest to the river experienced this past season. The adults were alarmed by the shouts of the children, and Zeus along with a number of the adults working the fields rushed towards the fracas; Bell's head was bleeding profusely, but one of Zeus' limited stock of Low-Grade Healing Potions was enough to stem the bleeding and reduce the swelling down to a goose egg.
The local healer from the village next door came by, a retired Adventurer by the name of Helena- a beautiful Humme bunny formerly of the Demeter familia who retired out here some years earlier- and checked him over. She was only one hundred and thirty years old, with just the barest touch of grey in her hair, and when she informed Zeus that Bell was going to be okay, and will probably sleep for the next few days, the old man was just so grateful that he showed the blushing woman just how thankful he truly was for her service in taking care of his grandson.
He showed her his sincerity for many, many, many hours, and when Helena left the village the next morning her eyes were tired but there was a permanent smile affixed to her face along with a significant pep in her step.
Zeus smirked as he waved to the neighbors and leaned against the fence as he watched the woman leave; they all knew the type of man he was, which was why they never left their wives unattended around him. Not that he would sleep with their wives- this was his home now, after all, he knew not to shit where he ate!
So, Zeus took care of him as the healer instructed- moved him over to a bed made of hay for easy cleaning when he inevitably soiled himself, cleansed his body when he did, and changed and boiled the bandages after replacing them. Within a few days, the swelling reduced just as Helena said and then the boy woke up.
Bell was sluggish over the next few days, his eyes unfocused and bleary, but he was able to take in the soup she recommended and keep down small bits of bread. There were a few bouts of nausea that caused him to violently wretch a few times, which obviously aggravated the boy's head wound, and the boy whimpered in his grandfather's warm embrace until the pains subsided; Zeus gave him the other half of the healing potion and he watched Bell's discomfort abate over the course of a few minutes.
"Of course, a fucking concussion, duh."
Bell's words were barely a whisper, but it was enough for Zeus to hear it plainly. Who the hell had taught Bell to curse, because it certainly wasn't Zeus! The God of Thunder and the Chief God of the Grekos Pantheon didn't need to curse- the Divine could make the most stoic Adventurer bow their heads in shame by merely calling them a 'pig-headed ninny', if Zeus cursed then one knew just what sort of mood he was in.
To his knowledge no one had cursed around the boy, even the most foul-mouthed of the villagers- the former sailors who became farmers- knew better than to spread that foul language in the village; most of their wives were just as headstrong and hot-tempered as the men, and unless it was an argument that came to blows then it was something that was always best steered clear of.
Well, rather than dwell on something ultimately of little consequence, the God-in-Hiding took to keeping watch over Bell until he looked well enough for Zeus to return to the fields for at least a few hours of the day. Day by day the boy's condition gradually improved until the goose egg was gone from his head and Bell could stand up and walk around without looking like he was going to hurl up his breakfast.
The issue that Zeus ran into was that he felt that this wasn't Bell Cranel.
Whether it was his Divine intuition or something else- his paternal instinct long since developed having raised hundreds of young boys into strong men over the past 1,000 years on the Lower World- he knew that something was fundamentally different about the boy.
He looked like Bell Cranel, but it was like one of those bizarre paintings from some of the more eccentric painters he'd seen in Orario- there was an uncanny valley in what he knew the boy to be and what he was today; something about his injury changed him, but it wasn't trauma. No, it was something different; like something had been brought to the surface.
Bell Cranel had always been bright, fluffy, and innocent, like a tiny white rabbit that all of the older sisters of the village loved to dote on, but there was always a hint of something else just under the surface that unnerved people sometimes; he could be uncannily perceptive and precocious at times.
He knew that Barnabas' wife was cheating on him with Lethil the Tanner the next village over, the boy picking it up just from social cues and idle gossip around the village when every other child was completely oblivious to what was going on, and then when asked about it the boy would just reply with a cheery smile.
"I don't know! I just do? Is that weird, Grandpa?"
The issue was that the boy was completely telling the truth- there was not even a hint of falsehood in the boy's words; no slimy feeling of misdirection or the chalky taste of omission. He was pure, like the freshly driven snow during the winter months in the small village of Orestead. The older he got the more frequently this happened, but the boy remained oblivious to his keen insights and instead focused on what all little boys his age did which was play with the other boys and beat each other with sticks in the name of GREAT ADVENTURE!
However, that bright-eyed boy has seemingly vanished in the night- like a child spirited away by faeries and replaced with a changeling.
If Zeus didn't know for a fact that such tales were bupkiss he would be alarmed with Bell's sudden change.
The bright smiles were gone, replaced by a soft, pensive frown or a severe scowl. His once sparkling ruby eyes were now looking at everything with the keen eye of a man in an unfamiliar place- they shifted back and forth, taking everything in at once and then settling back down to take everything apart with practiced precision.
Bell's stance was wrong, he sat facing the door, when he was spoken to his joyful voice was replaced by something much more polite and neutral, and when they had their discussions about their day over a stew that the boy had somehow put together in Zeus' absence because he was working in the fields, the boy's questions were probing but not invasive. He didn't just come out and say what was on his mind like the Bell of old, no, he slipped into a topic with the ease of an old soldier and transitioned from one point to the next without breaking stride.
Bell Cranel would have talked about how delicious Delilah's cookies were and then leaped over to how Daniver's new stick was the best stick they'd found to date for their Adventure play because it broke four of the other boy's sticks and didn't even look cracked at all!
No, this boy asked about how Zeus' time in the fields was, how the glut of rain in recent weeks was affecting the crops for the season, he'd poke at the nearby villages on the river, asking questions about them and how the river swells would be affecting them. Each question would gradually take them further and further away from their village of Orestead and to the great city of Orario.
Whereas the old Bell Cranel would be bouncing up and down in his seat just thinking about the grandly walled Dungeon City of Adventurers, this Bell asked questions about the state the current city was in. He'd ask about Goddess Freya and Goddess Loki, and he wondered aloud what Zeus and Hera would think about how they were running things. It stung if the God of Thunder was being honest, but once his pride finished healing he began the wonder just where the hell the boy was getting the ideas to ask such questions.
He had heard that head trauma could make mortals different- hell, he'd seen it more than once in his time as the Patron Deity for the City's strongest familia- but this was unprecedented. It was quite frankly downright terrifying, and after two weeks of this, he took a day off from the fields and began to ask around the village and followed the boy wherever he went, utilizing mortal magic to cast a clairvoyance spell- one that he had taught to Freya before she "cast him out" of the City- and watched the boy's movements.
The boy was sort of a homebody at first, sticking around the house and cleaning diligently until there was nothing else that could be cleaned. When that was done, he snooped around, searching for loose floorboards, hidden cubbies, and secret nooks; he looked through every book on the shelf, flipping through them carefully as if he was expecting there to be a hollow cavity in the pages where he would find a pouch filled to the brim with valis.
However, he had gotten distracted by one book in particular, and this one had a map of the world contained within it.
He looked completely distraught, and he buried his face within his arms and wept for a few minutes before he slipped out of the chair and cursed up a storm so thick that even the saltiest of sailors would blush as his verbiage; his little arms swang, his little legs kicked, his little feet stomped, and yet, despite his rage the boy never once allowed himself to actually hit anything. The closest he came to breaking something was one of the books on the bookshelf was jostled by his stomping and he caught it before it slipped off the bookshelf and returned it to its place.
After that, his anger subsided, and he stuffed his head into a bucket of water to cool off. Then he dumped the bucket out and went over to the well to dutifully refill it before he slipped off into the woods and checked a few rabbit snares that Zeus knew for a fact that he hadn't taught him yet; the boy grabbed the bunnies by their little heads and swung them around until their little necks snapped, and then he gutted them, skinned them, and cleaned them on site. There was one rabbit that he found had a large tapeworm in its belly, and the boy cursed the ' damn parasites' before he returned with the carcasses in tow; the infected rabbit was tossed into a fire pit the boy had constructed with flat river stones over the past few weeks and incinerated.
After that, he cleansed his hands with lye soap and near-boiling water, and then set out to make a broth with the bones of the rabbits along with some cow, and while that stewed he began scratching onto the dirt in front of their home with a stick. "Bell Cranel - Hero - Realis Phrase " along with a slew of other various words and surprisingly Skill names along with Developmental Ability names from the Falna system.
"Riveria Ljos Alf."
"Spiritual Healing."
"Mage."
"Finn Deimne."
"Command Call."
"Freya."
"Divine Charm."
"Ottar."
"Alias 'King'."
"Daedalus."
"Hive of Scum and Villainy."
"Hephaestus."
"Greatest Smith- looks great in leather pants."
"Hestia."
"Bestia- not for me."
"Liliruca Arde."
"To save or not to save, that is the question."
"Apollo."
"Fuck that guy."
"Knossos."
"Millions of tons of free Adamantium? Door made from solid Orichalcum?"
"Evilus."
"Bad fucking news. 27th Floor Incident. 24th Floor Pantry corruption. 59th Floor Corrupted Spirit- true spirit body lower than the 59th floor? New monsters - Violas: weak to magic, attracted to magic; Level 3 bare minimum, blunt trauma resistant to even Level 5 strength. Virga: weak to magic, weak body, acid can dissolve even Adamantium- requires Durandal to fight effectively; counter with ranged weapons- bow and arrow?"
Zeus blinked and focused his clairvoyance spell onto the boy's face as he sat on the log in front of the front yard's fire pit and skimmed the scum from the bones off the bubbling pot. The boy's lips were twisted in a rictus grin that was both horrified and somewhat excited?
"The future is really going to fucking suck for me, isn't it?"
The God felt his heart stutter as the boy's whispered words barely translated through the spell. The future? Is this why Bell Cranel changed overnight? The head wound had been worrying, but not so severe as to change the boy's personality- no, he had been shown the future, and that fundamentally changed him?
No, not even then. There were mortals who have seen the future- flashes and ill-omens, premonitions, but nothing with so much clarity that the boy was seemingly recalling. This was something else. Something different. That strange undercurrent beneath the boy's snow-drift innocence was something far colder. More firm. Tough and durable. That had been brought to the surface, the snow and purity was naught but a mere facade for the boy who was underneath.
It was something his Divine senses had been screaming at him since the boy had woken up, but he hadn't been able to put into words until now.
It hurt. It hurt a whole lot. He'd failed in his promise to look after Bell Cranel and take care of him until it was time for him to grow up and go off on his own Grand Adventure. His ward. His charge. His grandson. He had failed him, and the God walked towards the creek where he had been spying and tossed himself into the shallow, cool waters to try and calm his hammering heart and roiling mind.
It wasn't the boy's fault he had changed, walking up there angry would do him no good. Right now the boy needed answers, he needed his grandfather, and maybe, just maybe… they could work through this together.
When Zeus returned home a few hours later he was half-dry from the walk back home, but his boots and stockings still squelched uncomfortably, but the still damp breeches, suspenders, and white linen shirt were monumentally refreshing with the warm spring winds that blew as he walked through the forest. When he walked up the dirt path the boy was pulling the small pot off of the iron swing handle and was about to take it inside; the scribblings in the dirt had been wiped away with what appeared to be a leafy tree branch- given the tree branch was nowhere in sight it was probably used to feed the fire. "Ah, Grandpa. You're home early. I hope that you didn't slip and fall into the river?"
He had an easy smile on his face, but his posture wasn't Bell Cranel.
It hurt.
"My boy, almost three weeks ago you suffered a nasty injury." Zeus ran a hand over his beard and worked his jaw. "You've… changed."
A sigh escaped Bell's lips and he gave the God a soft, sad smile; one that looked to be conciliatory- Hera oft gave him the same smile when she'd heard about one of his Children perishing in the Dungeon.
It was a smile meant for a funeral.
Zeus hated that smile, but he kept his temper reigned in. Whatever had happened, this wasn't Bell's fault. He should be understanding. He should listen. He should give him a chance to explain.
The God of Thunder had a temper that was well known, but so far this boy had done nothing to earn his ire; even if it looked like he was a stranger wearing Bell's flesh, he knew for a fact that he was Bell Cranel- one and the same. That he was different but still whole. He could feel it.
"I suppose that I didn't exactly try to hide it; it would have felt sleazy and disingenuous. Come, let me get this inside so that I can get our dinner started and we can sit out on the back porch and talk. I feel that this will best be a conversation over some tea, I think." The boy snorted as he used his elbow to nudge the door open and walked into the cabin; "I fucking hate tea too."
Zeus followed the boy in and he watched, just marveling at how well the boy moved throughout the kitchen; was this what he had been missing while he was working the fields? The boy grabbed the stool and handled the knife like he was one of Hera's daughters, swiftly mincing the meat, onions, shallots, and tossing them into a sizzling pan with butter, garlic, and thyme. "I didn't realize that my Grandson was such an accomplished chef."
The boy froze for a moment before he resumed stirring the meat paste in the pan. "Well, I know that it sounds a bit cliche, but I always loved cooking. I even left the army to go to a culinary school because I wanted to open up my own restaurant."
Zeus felt no lies in the boy's words, and Bell poured the meat onto a dish to let it cool while he prepared a half dozen of the puff pastries that Missus Nami down the street used to bake her pies. When had the boy managed to walk over there to pick some of those up? More importantly, what did he trade for in exchange?
The woman was a hellraiser in the kitchen if her husband was to be believed, and she held onto family recipes as if they were gold coins to be hoarded and guarded jealously like a dragon. "I also didn't realize that Misses Nami gave out her pastry recipe. She always seemed the type to keep her much vaunted recipes close to her bosom."
"Well, she's a culinary fiend, that one. I just had to give her something that she could make in trade - it's called equivalent exchange. I showed her how to make something she'd never seen before, a dish called Beef Wellington, and she gave me the recipe for her puff pastry; I mean, I know how this is made already, but I was fuzzy on the exact measurements and didn't feel like wasting a bunch of money trying to get it exactly right." Bell spoke idly, his tone distracted as he seared the rabbit in the pan, using the drippings from the minced beef to put a nice crust on the lean meat before pouring half of the remaining drippings into the soup and the other half into a small tin bowl.
The fat would be used for getting the next fire going in the morning as there were "too many conflicting fats and spices to be used for future cooking or baking; wouldn't want to get an upset stomach".
The soup broth he made earlier in the day was filled up with fresh-cut vegetables from the garden behind the house, and the rabbit meat was tossed in as well. With the pot over the kitchen fire, the boy grabbed the teakettle off of the stove and made a pot of tea before cleaning his hands off and ushering Zeus onto the back porch overlooking their garden on the fairly generous plot of land he'd set up before he left Orario.
Black eyebrows furrowed as he carefully poured the God a cup and then himself before he reached over and pulled a few mint leaves off from the window sill herb garden and crunched them to put in his tea.
They sat there for a few minutes, just enjoying the slowly setting sun and the tea before the boy sighed. "I don't want you to take this the wrong way, Grandpa, but I…"
He licked his lips and placed his cup onto the table between them before he held out his hands- both palms skyward and acting as if he were cupping water.
" Bell Cranel." He spoke with a soft voice as he gestured with his cupped left hand, and when he gestured with his cupped right hand he spoke again. " Jeremy Winters ."
He slowly brought them together until he 'pooled' both together and his hands held a 'single' pool of 'water'. " Bell Winters . Jeremy Cranel."
Bell swallowed as he looked up from his hands and back at Zeus. "Does that make any sense? I was Bell Cranel, but that head injury it… 'woke' me up for lack of a better term. I was Bell Cranel on the surface, but underneath it all, I was Jeremy Winters all along."
Zeus felt his body sag as he placed his cup onto the table. "So a… botched reincarnation then?"
The boy leaned back and his head thumped against the wood of his chair. "Well, you would know better than me, Lord Zeus, I didn't even know reincarnation was a thing until I woke up here."
The God in question felt his jaw pop. "So you know? How?"
The boy blinked and then scrubbed a hand through his white, spiky hair with a grunt. "I had visions. Images. Play out like a story for me. A story of a boy with white hair and red eyes, of a boy named Bell Cranel and all of the Grand Adventures he'd go on in his question to become a famous Adventurer and pick up girls in the Dungeon city of Orario."
Truth.
"I don't remember all of it, but more than enough for me to take note that I'm Bell fucking Cranel, and realize that the boy in that story and myself are two fundamentally different people." The boy gritted his teeth and crossed his arms over his chest as his tiny fingers turned white with how tightly he was holding onto his biceps. "That boy was as bright as the sun, kind-hearted as he was foolish, as determined as he was dense to the affections of the girls around him; a young man with a single-minded focus so strong that it spawned a Rare, Unique Skill that gave him a growth-rate so astounding… so absurd that it put the greatest Legends to shame."
Bell rolled his eyes as he managed to pry his hands away from his arms and let them rest on his lap. "All to chase after a girl who was strong- so that he could be strong enough to stand beside her. How did his tale end? I couldn't tell you, the story I saw just wasn't complete- it was… disjointed, told out of order sometimes. Piecing it together has been my primary focus these past two weeks; other than, you know, trying not to puke my guts up when I stand up to go pee in the middle of the night."
Truth.
He could detect a slight whiff of misdirection with a touch of omission, but he let it be; no doubt that the boy had some things he saw he would rather not talk about, and considering what he was divulging already he decided to not press. Bell… could fill him in more when he felt more comfortable.
That was fine. Bell Cranel wasn't completely gone- some of his peeked through every now and again, but Zeus had to remind himself that Bell Cranel likely hadn't existed in the first place; he was merely a shell that contained a soul much older than it should- a soul that hadn't been cleansed properly before it was sent off into the cycle of reincarnation.
A soul that had somehow had a brush with the Architects of Fate in the Heavens and stolen visions of the future? Or had they interfered directly and imparted such visions of the future before sending this Jeremy Winters to be born into the world?
Zeus didn't know, but when he returned to Tenkai, whenever he did, he would march right down there and ask the many Gods and Goddesses of Fate questions, and they better have answers.
In the weeks since their discussion, Bell had taken to calling himself Bell Winters. He thought that it was accurate to display his new self, to help him center his mind that he wasn't Bell Cranel and that he was no longer Jeremy Winters .
He honored his parents with the birth name that they gave him, and he honored who he was in the past with his surname. Sure, he would officially keep Cranel, but if anyone asked he would introduce himself with Winters.
Over the weeks they had reached an uneasy peace, with neither side willing to extend the olive branch fully, that was until Bell began telling Zeus about his old world. A world without the Gods at all; truth be told the God of Thunder was a little surprised at how easy it had been for him to be enthralled by the boy's storytelling- usually, it had been him making the boy wriggle and squirm in anticipation- but hearing of his own exploits in the mythology from Jeremy's world had been quite a hoot!
Did he truly turn into a golden bathtub to impregnate a woman? And a goose? Ha! The other him was a total mad lad!
After that, Bell began asking some very pointed questions about his parents, and after hearing the tale about his father the boy seemed to be… incredibly disappointed. "So he really was a coward to the end, wasn't he?"
Zeus felt his gorge rise a little bit, but he tamped down his anger a little bit, "Now what makes you say that, my boy?"
Bell's eyebrows hiked up to his hairline as he plated up their meal for the evening- a sumptuous looking meat-dish he called 'Shepard's Pie'- and shook his head. "Well, he was a coward in the eyes of the familia; always preferring to run away rather than fight. You said it yourself, his Rank Ups were always forced upon him by the Dungeon instead of him seeking out the challenges himself; Monster Parties, Pass Parades, an Enhanced Species spawning while he was farming for monster cores and loot."
He scrunched up his nose as he sat down and began picking at the meal- a small bit of the old Bell shining through as he huffed his open mouth, blowing on the hot pie and suffering a slightly burnt tongue as a consequence of his over-eager nature to enjoy the meal he had painstakingly cooked for the two of them. "That and he was a pervert- trying to slip into the Hera familia compound quite frequently with yourself and another unrepentant pervert to try and peep on the girls there."
His lips curled in disgust as he continued to describe the man. "The way you described him was very generous Grandpa, but let us be honest here: he was a man in his 40s perving on a girl barely on the cusp of adulthood, a girl who was in constant ill health and who had barely seen the world outside of her familia's compound. On the days she could call 'Good Days' she was able to walk around her mansion without experiencing crippling amounts of pain, and she was incredibly lonely."
"So lonely that she didn't push away a slovenly man who slipped into her bedsheets at the first available opportunity because he gave her a taste of something that she hadn't experienced anywhere else." Bell sipped on some water to cool his tongue before he continued, "And when he got her pregnant, he was more than happy to leap into the suicide mission that was the Three Great Labors your familia embarked on…"
"Then, upon hearing of her death after my birth, instead of taking leave to return to Orario and care of his infant son, he decided to request your permission to charge the One-Eyed Black Dragon along with the rest of the familia to die with a bit of 'dignity' and 'pride'." The boy's red eyes were startlingly cold- so much unlike his father's mischievous ruby gaze.
"If you look at it objectively, my father took advantage of a sickly girl, got her pregnant, ran off, and then upon hearing news of his son's birth and his mother's death, ran off and committed suicide while leaving me in your care to raise alone without the aid of your familia." The disgust was clear in the boy's face, such vitriol shouldn't be heard in such a young voice except when describing how much they hated their veggies or the child down the street who made fun of their hair or called them names.
"You can try and dress it up as a 'whirlwind romance between a girl who wanted to experience all life had to offer but was a caged bird, and a man who had lived the coward's life but wanted to be heroic at least once' as much as you like, Grandpa, but that doesn't change the facts. Ezekiel Cranel was a scumbag of the highest order, a predator."
Zeus felt his appetite disappear as his anger rose to a height he never thought possible, and he stormed out of the house and into the woods.
He didn't return until the next morning.
When Zeus had calmed he found the boy sitting on the front porch with a few sheaves of parchment sitting on the mobile writing desk that the God used when he felt like sitting outside and doing paperwork; feeling the sun on his skin and feeling the breeze through his hair made it a lot easier for to concentrate on doing things like managing their finances and expenditures.
When Zeus walked up the boy looked up at him and bowed his head slightly. "I could have been more… tactful, but I won't apologize for what I said. If there is more to Ezekiel Cranel than what you've told me thus far, then I'd be willing to listen, but that still does not excuse his actions, no matter how romantic they appear at first blush."
The Divine felt the low embers of his anger get stoked with the winds, but he changed tack and focused on the paper and quill in the boy's hands. Besides, the boy was lying anyways- his mind had been made up, and nothing the God could say would ever change how he viewed his father- no, sire , in any case.
Zeus made a note to find Ezekiel and would apologize to him when he eventually returned to Tenkai; his son saw him as a fiend, one that should have been put down like a criminal, and not as a man who made mistakes and tried his best to make up for them. The boy seemed to view his father's heroic stand, the finding of his courage to face down a monster that none have ever fought and survived - his final legacy-, as a pathetic attempt to escape his duties as a father.
In a certain light, Zeus supposed that it could be seen as such- it was the only reason why he hadn't lost his temper and blown up on the boy right then and there.
"Never mind that, boy, what have you got there?" The God muttered as he took a seat next to the boy on the bench; it was hard to imagine that he was a five-year-old child when he was looking over paperwork like this so intently.
"Hmmm? Well, I'm looking over our finances since I know that you do this every month," Bell tapped a stack of parchment with a neatly ordered row of boxes and grids that he'd drawn with a straight-edged ruler, "And I was planning, ruminating about the future."
"The future, eh?" The Divine picked up the finances and began to look them over; the boy was working off of the paperwork Zeus had in a binder on the bookshelf- it appeared that he didn't know about the sizeable amount of coin the God had hidden in the housings of the magic stone lamps hanging from the ceiling. "What about it?"
"Well, unless I begin training now," The young boy sighed and hid his eyes with an ink-smudged hand, "I'm fucked, the city is fucked, and the world is potentially fucked ; unless Ottar manages to make Level 8 sometime soon, that is."
Zeus put the paperwork down and stroked his beard. "Why do you say that, my boy?"
The Divine was intensely curious. This sounded like one hell of a story, and while Zeus thought of himself as different than the other Divines, he still was a Divine that drew great entertainment from the stories that the mortals made of their lives.
The boy went on a small rant, ranging from one topic to another, and the boy at least believed that what he was saying was the truth; Bell Cranel lived an 'interesting life', at least what the Far Eastern Divines termed as 'interesting'. He faced incredible odds and surmounted them, all the while doing his dear Grandpa proud by collecting a menagerie of cute girls who all wanted a piece of him… but made the old man weep because he never got anywhere with any of them because he was a horse with blinders on chasing after a single girl.
The only bright spot was that the girl seemed to be just as interested in Bell as he was in her- the Sword Princess Aiz Wallenstein- but according to his knowledge of the visions he saw, she was interested in him because he reminded her of her father… and boy wasn't that a doozy? The hero that made the 'Black Dragon' the 'One-Eyed Black Dragon' was the father of this young girl- his wife being a Wind Spirit that Zeus himself had once known; Aria .
He didn't know what to think about all of this, but it appeared that neither did the boy, because his visions didn't extend to just how the girl ended up one thousand years in the future and in the care of that up-and-coming upstart Loki. Instead, Zeus filed that information away to chew upon later, and he focused on Bell.
"- since I am fundamentally different from that Bell Cranel, the likelihood of me getting his bullshit OP HAX skill 'Realis Phrase' is slim to none, and without that in my corner, it means that I'm going to have to get started now if I'm going to survive the mess going forward! Like, what the hell, over!?" The boy's arms gesticulated wildly as he alternated between messing up and hair and dragging his hands down his face in utter exasperation.
Zeus had long since removed the lap-desk from the boy's legs and put it off to the side.
Truth be told it was relieving to see the boy angry and acting out for a change- it was a nice change from his usual withdrawn countenance; seeing a boy move either mechanically as he tried to get used to a body that was smaller than it should have been, or acting as though he was an unwanted guest in his own home had been jarring, even for the Divine himself to experience.
"That seems to be quite the predicament, indeed." Zeus chuckled as he stroked his beard with one hand and threw his arm over the boy's shoulder with another to pull Bell close and into his side. "However, you seem to have a keen mind and a fairly in-depth knowledge of the falna system, so if anyone can help the City of Orario, then I think it just might be you."
The boy pouted but didn't pull away. "Way to inspire confidence, Old Man. I was a soldier in my past life, one of the good ones, but I wasn't the cream of the crop- the big dick pipe-hitters who looked at challenges like this and chewed them up for breakfast. I'm also not some story-book hero who views the world through rose-tinted lenses and can only see the good in people."
"I beg to disagree, my boy- you are already on the path, I think. You look at Orario and see not a bastion of greatness, but a cesspool of stagnation and decay, and recognizing a problem is one of the first steps to solving it." The Divine slowly carded his fingers through the boy's hair as Zeus let his head rest against the log facade of the cabin wall, "It was why Hera and I left Orario in the first place; the city needed to experience a change if there was ever to be any growth, and we'd gotten too comfortable in our roles. Too complacent."
"If you ask me you left the city in a pretty sorry state," The boy grumbled, "Just up and leaving. Did you even impart your knowledge to Freya before you left?"
Zeus felt his eyebrows raise as he gave the boy a side-eye. "What knowledge are you talking about?"
Bell shook his head and held out his arms in front of him. "Well, I've been doing some theorizing on the falna, and I think that there are some hidden mechanics behind it. In my mind, Ouranos had to of imparted onto you something- something to give you and Hera an edge over your competition so that you could provide Orario with stability by sitting at the very top."
The boy went on to speculate about how the falna worked, and some of them were surprisingly astute, but his sense of scale was all off. Then there were others that just made him chuckle. "While yes, when experiencing a Rank Up, it is always advised to get one's stats to S-Rank before leveling up, you're wrong in that it only gives a small boost- you estimated a three times increase in one's capabilities? No, you're looking at more like a five to six-fold increase in strength. It is why no Adventurer of lower rank could ever hope to challenge an Adventurer of a higher Level; this 'Realis Phrase' skill, if it truly allowed for the Bell of your visions to fight a Level 4 on equal footing as a Level 3 then it must have been far more powerful than even you believed it to be."
The God shook his head, "Although, if they were the average High Class, then if their stats were in the D's and C's when they Ranked Up then I suppose that would make sense as to why he was able to compete. However, there is no such thing as a 'Rank Reset' or anything of the like; if Ouranos hid something in the falna to improve one's growth rates then I would have found it. Or Hera would have; we were quite meticulous in monitoring our Adventurers."
Zeus mussed the boy's hair and chuckled. "No, we stood at the top of Orario because we wanted it more than everyone else, and by extension so did our Children. We worked harder, and because of that we had more High-Class Adventurers than anyone else; that was also because we took far more risks as well; every one of my Sons knew that greatness could not be achieved without Danger. So they sought it out at every opportunity, but they did it smartly, and thus is showed in our rolls; every member was Level 4 at the bare minimum because they worked for it. There was no shortcut to power, Bell, no magic words or secret mechanisms. Just hard work and a lot of dedication."
The Divine sighed and released the boy so that he could place his hands upon his thighs and looked out over the front of their little plot of land. "Even your father, whom you described as a coward, would be considered one of the greats if he were in another familia other than my own. He was strong, but his strength was often outshone by everyone else's brilliance. However, he never lost heart, and he never quit even when his brothers showed him scorn and derision. Ezekiel stayed with his brothers until the very end."
Zeus' voice was wistful, and Bell remained silent.
"So there really is no other way, huh?" The boy eventually murmured, "Just git my teeth and bear it? Suck it up and move on?"
When the God nodded the boy shook his head.
"That's bullshit." Bell groaned and thumped his head against the facade of the cabin a few times before he hopped off the bench and wiped his hands off on his pants. "Well, nothing for it, I suppose. I can only focus on getting stronger and will have to play it by ear."
Zeus tilted his head and watched the boy as he walked over to the bucket and wiped his hands and face clean of the ink before it could stain his pale skin. "What makes you think that you have to bear this burden all on your own? Why not merely inform Loki and Freya of your visions and allow them to protect the city?"
The boy swung his arms to rid them of the water droplets that clung to them. "If you believe that something should be done, and done right, then you need to do it yourself. I can only trust Freya and Loki to act in their own best interests, and as long as their positions in the city are secure I don't know if that will extend to the citizenry of Orario or not. I have the knowledge, I just need to use it, and maybe, just maybe, I can prevent some greater tragedy from getting a whole bunch of people killed."
Bell placed his hands on his hips as he turned his face towards the sky, his voice quiet. "In my home, there is a saying, one that I firmly believe in. It goes something like this: 'All it takes for Evil to triumph is for good men to stand by and do nothing.' I could just sit back and let this play out without me, but if I did I feel like that would inevitably lead to something even worse happening. While I know that rationally I'm not responsible for the evils that Evilus wish to perpetrate on the world, I fucking live here, this is my world now. If I don't stand up then who will? Who knows the lengths these bastards are willing to go to but me?"
"I joined my nation's military and gave them ten years of my life to fight against perceived evils and wrong-doings on the other side of the damn world, and ended up just protecting the interests of politicians instead of actually doing real good." The boy let out a dark chuckle, one that would be found escaping the lips of a veteran who just found out the war he'd fought for had been ultimately pointless. "Here? Here I have a chance to actually fight the good fight, against real enemies who want nothing more than death and destruction for the sake of death and destruction ."
He turned his head and looked at Zeus. "For the longest time, I fancied myself a 'Sheepdog', a protector of the 'Sheep' from the 'Wolves' who sought to prey upon them. I still like to think that the drive and will to do just that hasn't left me completely, and here is a world where there is a Dungeon that constantly spews monsters seeking to devour the mortals of the world… along with a legitimately evil organization that is working in concert with the Dungeon to help perpetuate just that. How can I look at myself in the mirror if I just… dropped a few words into the ears of Loki and Freya and then walked away?"
Bell shook his head and looked out over the fields of grain and the rows of vegetables that stretched across the horizon. "Besides, Jeremy Winters died a long time ago, and just a month ago a young boy with big dreams and an even bigger heart by the name of Bell Cranel died as well. In his place I was born; Bell Winters, the amalgamation of two souls made into one. That boy wanted a Grand Adventure more than anything else in the world, and who would I be to deny him?"
Bell Winters believed his words to be true, but Zeus knew that his reasoning was flawed; his understanding of Bell Cranel's soul was only what he as a mortal could perceive. Bell Cranel- that happy, bright-eyed boy- had been a veneer, a facade; much like the logs of his cabin hid the Iron Wood paneling.
Jeremy Winters had been the foundation on what Bell Cranel had been based on from the very beginning.
The only thing that accident did was wake him up. Nothing more, nothing less. It was as he properly deduced when Zeus had first spoken to him before: Bell Cranel and Jeremy Winters were one from the very start. His guilt was misplaced, but… Zeus didn't feel the need to correct him; he believed that he would understand in time.
Neither spoke for a few minutes until Bell looked back at Zeus. "Hey, Grandpa, what about if I stalled my updates as long as possible? Sure, it would be incredibly boring to be stuck on the 1st Floor for a long time, but if the difficulty remained the same, then my stats should continue to grow more quickly, right?"
The God grinned. "Now you're thinking like an Adventurer. Come over here, and I'll tell you some stories of some of my strongest Children. Maxim actually used that same little trick to make it to Level 8, you know? Everyone always thought that he was something special, that he had a unique Skill that I'd kept hidden, but the man just made sure to always keep himself challenged at all times. Why-".
Zeus had to dig into some of their funds to purchase the boy a bow fit for his size, and despite his initial desire to keep the boy unblessed, the God ended up caving anyways so that Bell could get a head-start on his Grand Adventure.
The boy was incredibly well-trained thanks to his experience in his previous life, and had set up a very well thought out training plan; he called himself a "Ranger", but didn't believe he had it in him to be one of his nation's "Special Forces".
"No, I didn't have the right mentality for it. Being a Ranger was tough enough as it was; it really ground me down- mentally and physically. I'm surprised I lasted as long as I did, to be honest; I just wanted to go in and do my time to get a free education when I got out, and I somehow got sucked into all of the 'Hoo-ah' and drank the Kool-aid and signed up for something that I really wasn't prepared for. I mean, I did it, and I lasted longer than most, but to wear that Green Beret? Nah, I wasn't good enough to be one of those guys."
Zeus poked a prodded, asking why he thought he could stand among the Adventurer Elite now when he couldn't stand among the Elite of his nation's military then, and the kid just gave him a huff.
"I don't have a fucking choice, Old Man. It's do or die time. Nose to the grindstone and all that."
Which is wrong, he did have a choice, but he had tricked himself into believing that he didn't. Whether it was on purpose or not Zeus didn't know, but instead, he just focused on helping the boy where he could; deep in the woods, they set up a training area where the boy honed his body to the best of his ability. Zeus had some training weapons fashioned for him by one of the carpenters a few villages over, and a bow and arrows made by a fletcher near one of the hunting settlements that handled providing the wild game that the region consumed.
Bell got up early in the morning, cooked a light breakfast for them, they worked in the fields until noon, and when the other kids broke off to go play out by the creek, Bell and Zeus returned to their home to study some history- reading and writing Koine was easy enough for the boy as it was startling similar to his world's 'English', but learning Far Eastern was incredibly difficult for him, even with his 'enhanced neuroplasticity' from being a child.
The boy questioned the validity of learning the language more than once, but Zeus posited that Far Eastern was the 'other half' of Orario, and he would be at a severe disadvantage if he didn't learn it.
It was also because all of the best hole-in-the-wall whore houses that Zeus liked to frequent were strictly Far Eastern in both written and spoken languages, not that the Bell really cared to hear about it. Sure, he admitted to sleeping with a few hookers in exchange for cash when he didn't have time to settle down in a place and look for a lover, but he didn't sound too happy about it.
Ah, the young man just didn't know that there was no shame in seeking the comfort of Women of the Night! They literally advertise their services! They have a whole district dedicated to it! It was just as much a part of the Adventurer culture as the Dungeon was! How could he call himself an Adventurer if he let his seed stew in that sea of beautiful female flesh while not grabbing a hold of his rod and casting a line!?
Sometimes you don't have time for romance and just need to take the edge off, and there just so happened to be an entire district of the city dedicated to women who would be willing to do just that for a bit of coin; even if he was squeamish about it, or ashamed, he could at least just have them use their hands, tits, or mouth. Hell, if he wanted to do something as inane such as 'save his virginity' then he could just do butt-stuff instead!
Everyone knows that anal isn't sex! It's sodomy! There is a difference! Virginity protected and smiles all around!
Still, Bell Winters sat through every lesson that Zeus was willing to teach and devoured it all like a man on a mission, which he was. Within two summers the boy was capable of speaking the Far Eastern language like he was born into it, and Bell had an inkling that the divine properties of the falna helped him out quite a bit.
By the time Bell was seven years old, he was sent off to the hunting settlement a week's travel away by wagon to stay there for half a year. His skill with bow and arrow had increased to the point where Zeus thought that the only way he could improve any further without updating his falna was to go out and actually kill something with it; the static targets they had set up were far beneath his current skill level now, and attempting to find someplace else where they could set up a new archery range was foolish. They'd have to walk half a day and spend the better part of a month cleaning the next closest area up, and they didn't have the time for it, not with the harvest season drawing near.
So, after the second harvest of Bell Winter's 7th year, he traveled to the Summer Glade- a hunting region where the lands were fertile and the game plentiful- and he spent two seasons there honing his skills.
When he returned he looked very different- his usual clothing had been replaced by hunting furs, his hair had grown out down to his shoulders, and he had an ornament in his hair that named him a 'spoken for' man; apparently, one of the hunter's daughters took quite a shine to him and all but declared him her betrothed.
Zeus took great pleasure in seeing the boy's shocked expression turn to one of utter exasperation as he decided that he would have to go back again next year to reject the betrothal because he had no idea what the significance behind the deer antler ornament was; he thought it was a token of friendship and given in recognition of his skills as a hunter.
As much as the boy ragged on Bell Cranel for being an 'utterly dense dunderhead who was blind to all of the booty around him', Bell Winters didn't appear to be any better.
To be fair, Zeus probably should have given him some warnings about the tribes in that area and how they handled things, but that wouldn't have been as fun, not at all.
Bell practiced with his blades, a short sword, and two long-bladed knives, as best he could, and tried to improve his bowmanship by adding to the complexity of his drills- shooting multiple arrows in quick succession, trying to land bullseyes while making acrobatic maneuvers, shooting the bow while prone and in various awkward positions. It was getting so ridiculous that Zeus had long stopped watching Bell's training as it was getting more and more silly as the months went on.
Who tried to fire a bow blindfolded while doing a somersault?
Well, it made sense for an Adventurer who was a high enough Level to have senses sharp enough to make such shots, but more often than not it was likely the boy just goofing off until the harvest seasons were completed and he could return to Summer Glade.
No, that Zeus particularly blamed him- little tricks like that did impress the ladies from time to time, as much as they tried to deny it. No one knew this better than the 'lady conquerers' of the Zeus familia! Women ate up feats of strength and skill like that all the time, and there were hundreds of bastard children running around Orario to prove it!
Never let it be said that the Zeus familia was not fruitful!
When Bell returned from his second trip to the Summer Glade, the boy looked even more fed up with life as three more totems dangled from his hair. It appeared as if his attempted refusals had backfired when he inevitably started showing off- ha!
Zeus could hardly hold in his chortles as he sheered Bell's long hair off and the boy used a small nail to drill a hole through each totem and threaded a thin leather cord through it; as much as he scoffed at the puppy love of young girls, he still seemed to value the time he spent with them greatly.
"They went through the trouble of making them for me, even if they know that I could never see them in such a light… they asked me to think about them when I eventually made it to Orario. To show the City the Pride of the Beltor and Rimurad Tribe's hunters. It is the least I can do for the kindness that they showed me."
Bell Cranel was almost nine years old when Zeus finally believed him to be ready to go into the city and start making his own way. It certainly helped that Bell Winters had the maturity of a 39-year-old man at this point, otherwise, the God wouldn't have allowed him to even think about setting foot into Orario until he was a man grown at 15 years of age.
"So, who do you think you'll be joining, Bell?" Zeus asked as they ran through his pack one last time.
"Lady Hephaestus." The boy replied immediately, "I've always been interested in blacksmithing, but I instead chose cooking because… well… blacksmithing wasn't really needed in my old world. However, here? A good blacksmith is worth his own weight in Adamantium, probably even more."
Bell rolled his sleeping mat tightly and cinched it closed with twine as he worked through packing his bag with the utmost efficiency; his ten years of experience as a soldier coming through as he tried to pack everything he could into as small a space as possible. "I would be a lot more comfortable going into the Dungeon knowing that what I was relying on would be made by my own two hands; not that I would doubt the workmanship of Hephaestus' familia, but weapons are expensive as hell there too! Half of the Adventurer's 'grinding cycle' is saving up to make their next gear purchase, and if I can fashion my own weapons and armor I'll be able to cut down on the costs significantly."
The white-haired boy ran a thumb over his nose as he sat on his heels and began rolling up his small clothes and stockings. "Besides, as much as I might not broadcast it to the rest of the world… for such a heavenly figure, the woman's ass in those leather pants of hers is positively sinful. I'd be a fool to pass up getting a chance to side-eye it every day."
"Ah-ha! Hahahahahaha! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Zeus slapped his knee as his entire body shook in the chair he was seated in; the God's laughter abating only after the boy looked like he wanted to pack himself into the bag to avoid his embarrassment. "Ah, my boy, I'm so glad to see that you at least aren't a brain-dead prude. Still can't believe you passed up the opportunity to smooch a whole bunch of young hunter girls though; that was a missed opportunity, for sure, but at least you recognize and appreciate Hephaestus' Divine and Heavenly ass-cheeks as every man should."
Bell's lip curled as his nose crinkled, the boy returning to pack his bag. "They were 7, 9, 11, and 13 respectively; I'm a 39-year-old man trapped in an 8-year old's body. Trying to 'smooch' them would be gross and highly questionable if not downright illegal. I ain't going to have a tribe of hunters chase me down because you suggested I try to play hanky-panky with them. I'd sooner slit my own throat."
"Heh, you say that now, but once those Pallum ladies start squirming around in your lap you'll change your tune soon enough." Zeus countered.
"Well as long as they're adults then I can deal with that when it happens, I'm not so small-minded as to try and shove a willing woman off my lap if she wants my attention." Bell huffed and closed his pack up tight before slinging his sleeping roll over the top of it and tying it on top. "Just like fat girls need love, so do tiny girls. As long as they're grown, I am not going to discriminate."
The God of Thunder cross his arms over his chest and nodded sagely. "Wiser words have never been spoken before, I think."
"What about the wise words 'Don't stick your dick in crazy?'" The boy smirked as he grabbed his pack and moved it over by the door.
"Pah! Nonsense! Always stick your dick in crazy, my boy! Just don't fall asleep with them afterward, and always make sure you're faster than the girl you're sleeping with!" The Divine slapped his palm on the table, his mug of ale bouncing at the force. "You haven't truly lived until a woman you once laid with is after your life."
Bell chuckled and began looking over his bow, his quiver, and his arrows. After a few minutes of silence he spoke up again, the young lad checking the fletching of an arrow before setting it off to the side to be traded over to Jorik the Fletcher on the way towards Orario; the wagon train would last two weeks, and would stop at every village along the way. "Also, I chose Lady Hephaestus because I feel like she would be inclined to keep your existence and my own initial falna a secret from those who would pry. You might have been an irredeemable horn-dog, but it sounded like you and Hephestus were pretty tight-knit."
"Indeed, I was close with every Divine in my pantheon. Of course, they were all more than happy to see Hera and I go, I think, but that was more out of a desire to see a regime change than out of actual malice or spite." Zeus sighed and leaned back in his chair as he brought his ale up to his lips to sip at it, "It's hard to recognize the stars when the Sun and Moon shine so brightly in the night sky, you know?"
Zeus didn't bother to look over at Bell, as the rasping sound of steel leaving leather filled the room; the lad giving his knives and shortsword one last look over before putting them back into their sheaths.
"Yeah, I could see it." Bell murmured, "Everyone wants a chance to shine, even if they say they don't. Everyone wants to be recognized for the blood, sweat, and tears they shed… to see their sacrifices mentioned on the lips of the people. We mortals need that sort of affirmation, even if it's just empty praise from people we don't know."
The weapons were hung up on a hook next to the door, and the boy cursed as he looked at his boots. The front tack had come loose, and would eventually back out and exposed his toes to the world. "Have to hope that Harry is up to repair my boot in the morning before the wagon train leaves…"
"Anyways, yeah," Bell straightened himself up and dug his knuckles into the small of his back, "Such things are important to people. Besides, it is really difficult to show off how hard they've worked when there were two familias that eclipsed them so strongly that it made all of their greatest efforts seem mundane by comparison; I'd imagine that making it to Level 4 is quite the feat, but it seems so much less impressive when there were over three hundred Adventurers and Supporters who all achieved that milestone."
Zeus nodded as he stood up and walked into his small study and grabbed a sheave of parchment as well as his writing set before he sat back down in the kitchen and began to write. Bell watched him for a little while but didn't bother him, instead he busied himself with cleaning the dishes and the cooking pot from the leftovers of their dinner.
After the letter was penned, Zeus folded it up and was about to put it in an envelope before the Divine paused.
The God of Thunder was frozen in place for a few moments he reached into his shirt and withdrew a signet ring, one that he hadn't used in nearly a decade, and lit up a candle so that he could melt a little bit of colored wax and dripped it onto the page next to his signature. He held the ring up to the flame to warm its surface so that the wax wouldn't stick to the cool metal, and then pressed down firmly; when he pulled the ring back, a highly detailed cloud with a single stylized thunderbolt striking the earth below was revealed.
He could have merely imparted a small bit of his Divinity into the paper to be returned to him when Hephaestus read it, but that seemed rather risky in his opinion; he was way out in the sticks hiding out because he didn't want any of his enemies coming after him now that he was missing a strong familia to protect him. No doubt Evilus would poke their heads out if they even sniffed the unmistakable ozone of his Authority, and after Bell's explanations from years past it seemed just the thing they would do.
No, this letter would be all of the legitimacy Bell needed to get him a direct audience with Hephaestus, and when the falna was revealed to the Goddess of the Forge then she would know that the letter was true; it was easy enough to use mortals to trick the Divine lie-detecting abilities of the Gods- all one needed to do was have a mortal truly believe that what they were saying was the truth and it would pass without fail.
Hephaestus might not be a regular player in the games of Orario, but she was competent enough to know that this could be a ruse without the proof in front of her.
The letter was tucked into the envelope and then sealed with a more generic stamp, and then that was placed inside of a wax-paper envelope that would protect it from most adverse weather before it too was sealed.
After that, Zeus stood up on the chair and unscrewed one of the magic stone lamps hanging from the ceiling, and withdrew a coin pouch before tossing it to the boy who caught it with a raised eyebrow. "Secret money stashes? Really, Grandpa? I spent a week out hunting to try and kill enough game to earn back the coin that you spent on wine last month, and you had something like… this…"
The boy's jaw dropped as he reached in and pulled out twenty gold coins before he whispered to himself as he put the coins back into the pouch and cinched it shut tightly. " This is twenty million valis. This is twenty million valis."
He turned around and walked over to his small dresser and pulled out a sock before he opened the coin pouch back up and stacked the coins and placed them in the sock's toe. He twisted the sock tightly until no sound could be heard, and he put the bundle back in the pouch and re-tied it. "Bell Cranel never had twenty million valis in my visions… but that is probably because he left here with only what he could carry in his small pack and the clothes on his back. He probably wouldn't have known to check for secret coin because the boy just couldn't stay quiet."
Zeus chuckled as he screwed the lamp back into place and stepped down onto the kitchen floor again. "Yeah, you were always excitable when it came to coin as a child, just like all children are; nothing like buying your first pastry 'with your own money'.
Bell's eyes became unfocused as he looked off to the side, and then a small huff of laughter escaped his lips. "Yeah, I guess I was pretty excited back then, huh?"
The Divine turned and walked into the pantry to grab the travel rations that they made from the deer meat that Bell caught last week to "pay off the wine" Zeus had "splurged on".
It was nice to see that Bell was not… disassociating himself as much as he used to. At the very beginning, he thought that he was a different person than Bell Cranel, and while it was true in some sense, he was coming around to finally accepting his current situation.
He paid lip service to his words that Bell and Jeremy were different people, but no, they were one and the same. Just because this Bell was different from the Bell from his visions didn't mean that he still wasn't who he was.
It sort of made the whole business a little confusing, but Zeus knew what he was on about; he was a damn Divine for Tenkai's sake! He used to deal with mortal souls on a daily basis up in the Heavenly Administration!
"I think it's best you get ready for bed, Bell. I'll pack your ration bag while you get some sleep. You've got to get up earlier than you thought to go have the cobbler look at your boot, right?"
The pack was on Bell's back, the ration satchel slung over his shoulder and resting over his hip. The boy's quiver was at the small of his back while his knives were strapped to his thighs and the short sword strapped to his hip; a small holdout knife was tucked into a sheath hidden in his boot.
"Got everything, my boy?"
"I've been over my checklist three times, Grandpa. I'm ready to go." White hair was mussed up and red eyes crinkled as a wide grin split the boy's face. "It's time I head off on my Grand Adventure. Be sure to keep your ears open for all of the stories that will be sung about me, okay?"
Zeus felt his heart tremble within his chest and he reached in and embraced Bell as firmly as he could with all of the gear the boy had strapped onto his body. "We've had an interesting few years haven't we?"
Bell's small but muscular arms wrapped around Zeus' thick waist as best he could. "Yeah, we have. Thank you… for being there for me, Grandpa. I know that in the beginning, I wasn't the easiest to get along with but…"
Half of the village that wasn't working the fields for the sowing season was there to see one of the village's very own stride out towards Orario in search of riches and glory. Some were pleasant, smiles all around, but most- particularly the mothers who had gotten to know Bell Winters over the years- thought that Mr. Cirrus had gone senile to send his grandson off to Orario to be killed.
In their eyes it didn't matter how mature or skilled Bell Winters was, he was still just a boy; however, the single retired Adventurer who lived there knew that Bell had a falna of a "Goddess" in Orario and it was time for her Child to be returned to her now that the "danger" she had sent Bell to Zeus for had "passed". They left it vague and Mr. Lewins, a half-elf from the Evlin kingdoms, didn't bother to pry.
"I know that you'll go on to do great things, Bell, my boy. However," Zeus rested his hand against the crown of the boy's head and rubbed it affectionately, "Just because you feel like the weight of the world is resting on your shoulders doesn't mean it actually is; if it all gets to be too much… don't be afraid to come home and rest your weary head, okay?"
Bell pulled away and Zeus saw some of the old Bell Cranel shine through as the boy smiled broadly and nodded. "Yes!"
With that Bell Winters turned on his heel and strode away from the village towards the wagon train waiting at the top of the hill, the boy waving to everyone as he walked away from this sleepy little village and towards what he believed to be his destiny.
"You're an old fool," Martha, the old dwarf woman rumbled, "Sending your grandson off like that. You should be ashamed of yourself; just too weak to tell that boy 'No' and be done with it."
Zeus couldn't help but place his hands on his hips and laugh out loud. "Ha! He's just like his old man, that one, always running off to places he shouldn't be, doing things he shouldn't be doing."
His laughter petered off and he let his arms rest down by his sides. "He was always going to be an Adventurer, Misses Martha, this was inevitable. At least he can continue to grow there- he'd stagnate if he remained here. Or married to four different tribeswomen; he would never achieve his dreams in a sleepy little place like this."
Zeus nodded to himself. Yes, Bell Cranel would never go the Grand Adventures he dreamed of, but Bell Winters would go in his stead.
[Hephaestus - Goddess of the Forge]
Hephaestus looked down at the severe expression of the young boy across from her; he was almost 9 years old according to the letter- under normal circumstances the boy would be lucky if she allowed him to shovel coal to fuel the forges of her budding forge district.
However, these were anything but normal circumstances.
The letter had been enough to get him an audience, but the seal along with the reveal of the falna on his back showed the Goddess all she needed to know.
While Zeus hadn't returned to Orario, one of his progeny did, and she was honor-bound to repay the debt she incurred when he and Hera took her under their wings when Hephaestus first descended to the Lower Realm almost three hundred years ago.
To think that he would hold onto his one 'favor' for so damn long and then use it on something like this.
The God truly was as fanciful as she remembered, and a huff escaped her lips; she would have taken the boy in for his pedigree alone- the son of one of his members along with the nephew of 'The Silence'? That was a no-brainer as far as Hephaestus was concerned, and the fact that he was so mature and focused just made it all the more enticing.
However, if Zeus was going to use his one favor on this, then why would she refuse and wipe that bit of red from her ledger?
Tsubaki Collebrand was looking at the young boy in awe, the thirty-one-year-old Level 4 had just taken over the Captaincy after her previous Captain- a Level 5 Dwarf named Vornir- lost his eye and hand in the fighting against Evilus only a few years earlier; he been her Captian for almost fifty years and decided to let one of the 'young blood' take over so that he could focus on his smithing with his last century of life. With an Adamantium hammer replacing his hand he was feeling more invigorated than ever, which Hephaestus found slightly amusing; who would have thought that it was the soul-crushing amount of paperwork he endured with her every day that was stifling his creative spirit?
"So you're a talented archer and hunter, some-what skilled with your blades, and you can read, write, and speak both Koine and Far Eastern?" The Goddess spoke, her eyebrow arched as she tried not to let her amusement show on her face.
The boy was incredibly serious and was treating this as if he were interviewing for a position as one of Freya's footstools and not a position as one of the Hephaestus familia's future smiths.
Literacy and the ability to communicate were incredibly important in their line of work, and while swinging a hammer can be taught when Hephaestus was teaching at the head of the classes, it often was far more difficult to encourage her smiths to learn a new language unless there was a girl they fancied who spoke Far Eastern.
"Indeed, Lady Hephaestus, I can read, write, and speak both Koine and Far Eastern," The boy switched over to the language as he spoke, "I am also well versed in mathematics, hunting, tracking, skinning, resource collection, and the history of the world as well as the nations that surround the City of Orario."
The boy switched back to Koine. "I am trained, highly dedicated, and very motivated. Learning to smith under one such as yourself would make me incredibly happy, even if I would just be shoveling coal and cleaning equipment to start. The possibility of delving into the Dungeon to compare how my training has gone these past four years under your care would also be wonderful."
Tsubaki's face quirked up into a chortling grin as she looked over at her Goddess and began speaking Dwarven. "Looks like we have our very own Sword Princess on our hands, Hephaestus-sama… and unlike Loki-sama's Child I don't immediately dislike him; he looks focused, but doesn't see himself as a tool unlike her ."
Hephaestus nodded in agreement with a hum on her lips. "I agree with you Tsubaki-chan, I like that look in his eyes."
The boy's face scrunched up cutely as he listened to them. "Of course, Grandpa wouldn't think to teach me Dwarvish as well.
Could he be the one she was looking for all along?
The one who would surpass her and become the greatest mortal smith the world had ever seen?
It was too early to tell, but she had a fairly good feeling about this.
Hephaestus felt her lips pull into a small smile as she gestured to the boy with her golved hand. "Very well then, Winter-kun, I'll accept you into my familia, even if you are a fair bit younger than I usually allow in. Please, remove your shirt and present yourself to me."
"Why didn't the Old Man mention the honorifics? This is going to be a pain, I can already tell." The boy muttered under his breath as he hopped off the chair and made his way over to the forward-leaning cushion of the Status Update chair and slipped his shirt over his shoulders and head.
Hephaestus felt herself swallow as she slipped her one of her gloves off and ran a finger along Zeus, the God of Thunder's, 'unlocked' falna.
How many Divines had fantasized about being able to do what she was about to do? How many wished they had the means to entice one of his powerful Children to join their familias?
Probably all of them, if Hephaestus was any indication- on more than one occasion she wished that she had just a four-man party of them at her beck and called to retrieve materials and ores from the Lower Floors at her request; life would have been so much easier with those strapping young men at her fingertips.
Now? Now she was about to have one- even if he was young, he had proven himself to be very capable and competent far beyond his years, and she pricked her finger, letting her ichor drop onto his back as she overwrote Zeus' falna with her own; the thundercloud and lightning bolt slowly changing shape to her own crossed smithing hammers. "I am going to update your status, Bell-kun."
"Ah, actually, Lady- er, Hephaestus-sama, I would appreciate it if you didn't. I would like to try and work as I am now for as long as possible if I could." The boy replied back politely, but the Goddess pinched the flesh of his back, causing him to stiffen.
"I can understand what you're trying to do, Winter-kun, however, if you think that your stamina will be enough for the hardship you're about to endure, then you have another thing coming." The boy's physique was astounding for a child his age, no doubt the boy's training and lifestyle played a huge part in his development, "However, swinging a hammer for hours on end is different than jogging down a deer, do you understand?"
Spoiler: Bell's Physique
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The boy didn't speak before he nodded, "If that is what you wish for, then so be it, Hephaestus-sama. I'm the one asking for your patronage, after all."
The Goddess felt her lips quirk as she opened up his falna and began to assign the Excelia he had already accumulated and Tsubaki chortled. "Aww, don't be like that, Bell-kun! Hephaestus-sama has your best interests in mind! Trust your onee-san on this one, alright?"
"Onee-san?" The boy coughed into his fist lightly.
Hephaestus' smile slowly slipped away as she delved deeper and deeper into his accumulated experience.
Training his body in a carefully implemented regimen.
Ensuring the proper dietary and nutritional intake to not only grow a young body but to build upon it even further.
She could feel the earth beneath his feet as he pulled a plow through the earth with his grandfather- Zeus- hollering out for him to pull harder.
Training with his blades to the best of his abilities under Zeus' watchful eyes.
She could feel the twang of the bowstring with each release and watched his journey unfold as he was shooting everywhere but the target only a dozen paces away, to needing to do somersaults while blindfolded to hit the targets at almost a hundred paces.
She watched his every hunt unfold before her, she could feel his careful footsteps as he stalked both deer and monster alike through the underbrush of the forests in the regions surrounding Orario.
She could feel his pulse pound as he and other hunters from a tribe unknown to her chase down surface Goblins and she could feel his elation when he shot an arrow at an attacking surface Hobgoblin and speared it through the eye; the monster tumbling dead in the tall grass.
His every experience from the moment the God of Thunder placed this falna on his back to the trepidation and excitement that flowed through his veins as he navigated Orario's city streets to make it to her smithing district, she felt it all.
A small breath escaped her lips as she felt the Excelia slide into place, and the High-Quality Excelia built upwards into a tower that just barely met the requirements.
"You qualify for a Rank Up, Winter-kun."
Tsubaki's smile slipped right off of her face, and the boy's reserved chatting halted immediately.
"What are my stats looking like? Also, what was it that pushed me over the top?"
The Goddess of the Forge felt her lips tilt upwards. "The surface Hobgoblin. Even if it is significantly weaker up here, it is still a borderline Level 2 monster."
Hephaestus ignored Tsubaki's gobsmacked reaction as she reached over and grabbed a sheet of parchment before she placed it on his back and inscribed the boy's stats onto the sheet. "Anyways, see for yourself. You even have a Unique Skill."
Spoiler: Bell Winters - Level 1
Bell Cranel (Winters)
Level 1 - Level 2 (Eligible)
Basic Stat: Stat Number: Letter Grade: Strength: 444 E Endurance: 329 F Dexterity: 589 D Agility: 501 D Magic: 0 I
Developmental Abilities: None.
Skills:
Leading the Way: Pathfinding, navigation, hunting, and tracking are much easier for you, and you gain a small bonus to Strength, Dexterity, and Agility when wielding ranged weaponry.
The boy's teeth clicked shut and a small chuckle escaped his lips. "Never thought I'd get a skill, much less a unique one."
Bell shook his head as he handed the parchment back to Hephaestus. "No, I think I'll hold off. I want to get much stronger than I am now. I need to."
Tsubaki seemed to have missed the emphasis on the boy's last words in her own shock, but Hephaestus didn't.
What could be going through this boy's head for him to think that he needed to improve so quickly? If anything, this was a stellar showing for any Adventurer in the Dungeon city, let alone one from outside the city's Dungeon.
"Well then, Bell Winters, welcome to the Hephaestus familia." The Goddess spoke as she dropped down onto a knee and embraced the boy warmly, "Welcome to my family; I do hope that you'll enjoy your time with us. Work hard, okay?"
With nothing else to say the boy merely nodded and buried his face into her shoulder as a few happy tears escaped his eyes.
Yes, she had a good feeling about this.
Chapter 2- Year One
[Bell Winters]
I don't know if you know this or not, but forges are hot. Like, insanely hot. I've been working as a prospective apprentice to Hephaestus for a year now, and I'm still barely able to withstand the heat for more than a few hours at a time.
I don't know if that is because of my young age or my lack of Endurance stat, easily my lowest one, or not, but if I'm not sitting outside on the bench and sucking down salt-laced water within two hours then I'm probably already passed out. Yes, that happened a time or two before I learned my limits, and let me say that seeing the beautiful red-headed Goddess that is Hephaestus lecturing me with an exasperated expression on her face is… something else.
I think my time with Zeus has addled my mind, because am I developing a new fetish?
Regardless, my integration into the familia was not as smooth as I would have liked. There were more than a few jealous glares sent my way as my small 9-year-old form sat in the front of Hephaestus' small lecture hall during the last year. Most of them were the 12 and 13-year-old boys and girls who hadn't yet been accepted into the familia, and were being tested on a 'trial basis' as beginner apprentices to see if they were capable of learning the art of smithing. No doubt that they had been refused years prior due to their young age and immaturity, but the joke was on them, I was 10 in age, but 39 at heart.
I even took notes, since I could read and write, which was more than I could say for 90% of the class that was with me, but I couldn't really fault them; literacy was something of a luxury in this world, and the vast majority of people could only learn enough to read what was required for daily life. Some aped what most of Hephaestus wrote onto the chalkboard in the front of the classroom, hoping that they would one day be able to save their notes and read them later after they learned to read, but it was an uphill battle for the majority of them.
I had tried to set up a 'study group', similar to the ones I did for my Rangers who were going to be attending their NCO career courses, but the jealousy of young children often leads to small minds; after being firmly rejected on multiple occasions I gave up and focused on myself entirely. My physical training took up a larger portion of my day thanks to my status update a year ago, which meant that I had to get creative with how I worked out to exhaust myself properly each and every day. I typically worked in squats and whatever exercises that I could do while filling up the coal wagons from one of the warehouses to be moved to the forges each and every day.
Sure, I didn't like that I was inhaling coal dust, but a damp cloth tied around my nose and mouth solved most of those issues, and considering I was working around superheated metals all day long that was going to have to be a health hazard I would have to live with; the higher Leveled smiths never seemed to have any lung problems, so maybe the falna was enough to mitigate such issues?
I also managed to find some time after the initial two months to get Tsubaki to escort me to the Witch's Secret Shop, where I met Lenoa the Witch- a creepy old codger who made the Wicked Witch of the West look absolutely beautiful- but I was able to purchase my first spellbook and my first Casting Stave as a result! It cost me a cool 1.5 Million for both, but Grandpa Zeus' coin sure came in handy.
When Tsubaki asked where the coin had come from I informed her that it was something my parents had left me and kept it at that; she seemed to realize that I didn't want to talk about it anymore- considering my pedigree it wasn't outside the realm of possibility. It wasn't like I stole anything, I was just a 10-year-old that had an inordinate amount of money.
No big deal.
What was a big deal, however, was just how fucking difficult magic was to cast. I'm being dead serious. Most stories like to talk about how easy and intuitive magic is for their heroes and main characters, and fuck, even Bell Cranel had a super fucking simple Super Short Chant Magic that he could cast just by holding his hand out and saying a single fucking word: "FIREBOLT!"
Hello? Balance Team? I would like to report a bug? Yes, Magic is not easy. What? Of course, I'll hold! You guys work so hard after all, yes, uh-huh, no problem. I'll wait until I die for you to take my complaint, thank you!
I had to learn the hard way, through the School of Paralyzing Myself with Immense Amounts of Pain as I Once Again Flub the Weavings of My Internal Mana Once Again.
This was followed by my Master's Thesis on "Giving Myself Mind Down While Sitting in Hephaestus' Waiting Room".
Thank you for attending my Ted Talk on just how hard Magic was to learn.
Shit sucked, for real. Every time I fucked up though, for some reason I held out hope that Riviera Ljos Alf would stride through the gates of the Hephaestus familia and see me fucking up and would then make it her solemn mission to take me, Bell Cranel, the protagonist, as her student to make sure I didn't kill myself.
Unfortunately, that never happened, because I was Bell Winters, not Bell Cranel.
So that shit never materialized. I just had to make do with repeating the flowing weaves of the beginner "Soothing Touch" spell, which was only equal to the effectiveness of a Low-Grade Healing potion and a gentle pat on the back.
It took me 9 months, but I was finally able to learn the Short Chant spell well enough for it to be added to the falna on my back, which unfortunately meant that I needed to get another Status Update to have it put in place. Sure, that update put me firmly in the High C's for my stats and qualified me for the 7th Floor, but my Advisor, a silver-haired elf by the name of Sophie, adamantly refused to let me progress past the 4th Floor.
That was with Tsubaki standing over me as my chaperone. Come on, woman! Have some sympathy for my familia Captain, please? She has better things to do with her time than to babysit my ass every time I wanted to go past the 2nd Floor! Aiz Wallenstein was apparently going deep as shit now that she was a freshly raised Level 3! Let me at least have the 4th Floor!
Granted I didn't want to proceed that far anyway, I was just happy with staying at the 1st Floor and exploiting the Dungeon's easiest money-making mechanic for valis. What exploit is that you might ask? Well, my plucky friend, it is the Jack Bird and its egg.
The Rooster-like monster is found only on the 1st Floor, and it is incredibly quick, the cock having preternatural skill at avoiding ambushes and danger like nobody's business; the damn thing was hella quick, and while it was easy money, most Adventurers above Level 1 saw it as a dick move to take the bird and it's 1 Million valis egg for themselves. Which was just as surprising to me as it was anything else, I assure you.
A Level 2 could catch it bare-handed, they just saw it as low-hanging fruit and didn't do so. Hell, I would be farming to damn thing every week until I made it down far enough to not be worth the effort, I don't know what these guys are on about; it is not like anyone else was able to nail the damn thing besides myself with any frequency or anything.
My "Lead the Way" skill, along with a very detailed map from the Guild, allowed me to track the 'Cock of Great Money', and I found that it followed pretty much the same path every single day without fail; the only times it would deviate would be depending on the day of the week - it would move clockwise on even days and counter-clockwise on odd days- and it would attempt to entice foolish or desperate Adventurers into trying to take it. The crowing avian would lead those chasing it into a Monster Party (as much of a Monster Party that could form on the 1st Floor anyways) and more often than not it would lose its pursuers.
I also learned through my careful stalking that the beast would learn immediately when any living being other than a fellow monster stepped within 50 meters of it or it spotted Adventurers outside its range, triggering its 'Fleeing' state and sending it ripping off down the tunnels at its insane speeds. However, it very rarely strayed from its path, and I tested this by introducing some variables by leaving my pack in the middle of its patrol path. The beast didn't even register the pack at all except to navigate around it.
That was when I found out that it didn't make any attempts at defending itself while enemies were otherwise unnoticed. I accomplished this why laying on my side with my pack obscuring my body at a corner of one of the long corridors in its patrol path and shooting an arrow at it through a small crack in between the corner and my bag. It was an uncomfortable shot to make, but I could stomach laying on the cold ground for twenty minutes while waiting for the damn thing to walk towards me! All of my training in the forest was paying off, and it just so happened to be paying me 1 Million valis a week!
Adventurers could farm for years and never see that amount of money!
So for the last six months, I farmed away at the monsters on the 1st through 4th Floors, relishing in the challenge that they sported all the while collecting a single fat paycheck to lodge into my savings account with the Hephaestus smithy's accounting team each and every week.
With my stat's frozen in place as they were, I got to focus on improving my blade play, often using some of my earnings to pay Tsubaki for lessons on the side; she might use a Katana, but there were some finer points of sword-play that just translated well to even the short sword I was using. Some of my money went into getting replacements for the swords and knives Grandpa bought me- and wasn't that a weird thought, me referring to Zeus as my actual Grandfather- but I kept them at the same quality level as to what he purchased. Sure, I could have bought fancier High-Steel blades instead of the Low-Steel trash I was currently using, but preserving the difficulty was paramount in my opinion.
The more I fought the more I learned the movements of the monsters to the point where I could practically react before they could move just because I knew what they were going to do before they even did it. Claws scraping at the ground? Kobold was going to charge. Goblin squaring his shoulders and crouching? The bastard was going to leap. Sure, it sounded incredibly cock-sure and smug to say this, but the monsters here could only challenge me in that they had the numbers I needed to keep myself progressing; this was doubly true as the 'Morning Shift' of the Dungeon ended and the vast majority of Adventurers headed home for the day.
The 'Afternoon' and 'Night Shifts' in the Dungeon saw vastly increased numbers of monsters roaming the floors as there just weren't enough Adventurers roaming around to keep their numbers low. Tsubaki usually kept me well clear of these mobs while we were down there, that was if she allowed me to stay in the Dungeon at all once the clock ticked past 2:00 PM. Slowly but surely, however, as I proved myself more capable, she allowed me to stay out later and later, and while my stamina was good, I wasn't able to last more than a few hours once the 'Morning shift' ended, even with my Healing Spell keeping me in the fight.
Without frequent Status Updates to improve my base stats, I had to focus on fighting as efficiently as I possibly could to extend the length of my dives into the Dungeon. Every single monster killed needed to be done with expert precision- even a little slop here and there, or mistiming my cuts or thrusts drastically changed how quickly I could kill even the most basic monster.
Thrust a little too high? Then I was scraping ribs instead of slipping my short sword between them, which meant I had to pull back, readjust, and take another stab. Not enough 'omph' in the cut? Then it was too shallow and I wouldn't disembowel the Kobold and would have to try again. In the Dungeon, every little mistake like that added up, and since the only increases in stamina were coming from my body as I slowly aged, it meant that I had to be correct with every cut, thrust, duck, and sidestep.
When I cast my Healing Spell I focused on my chant and my weaves, trying to use the least amount of Mind possible to complete the spell and mend my meager wounds. By the end of the year, I was starting to feel like a Certified Adventurer, and Tsubaki's genuine praise that I was a less-suicidal Sword Princess was well received.
I don't remember much about her early years at this point, my memories dulling with time as I struggled to comprehend and remember all of the new things being shoved into my brain, but she was pretty darn self-destructive if I remembered correctly. My image of her being ' covered in cuts and bruises while desperately wielding a broken weapon against foes without number' starkly contrasting with the actual sight of her when I saw her for the first time surrounded by her familia members during one of Tsubaki and mine's initial forrays into the Dungeon.
She looked absolutely adorable in her absolutely useless armor with a toothpick-thin rapier at her side instead of the famous Desperate that she was using in my memories of Danmachi.
When I voiced my opinion, my half-dwarf Captain chortled indulgently as she used my cranium as an elbow rest and buffed her nails on her chest wrappings. Apparently, I was similarly adorable with my totally practical Dungeon leathers and chainmail, bow, quiver, short sword, Supporter Pack to carry my loots, and my knives strapped to my thighs.
I protested this of course- I was actually very practical in my choice of apparel, and unlike the Sword Princess I was ready for any eventuality, even having backup weapons for my backup weapons!
We were NOT the same!
While I argued the finer points of my preparedness, Loki, the Goddess of Trickery herself, was witness to my faux pas of speaking ill of her 'precious Aiz-tan!' and she declared me 'totally uncute!' before spitting on my boots and skulking away as if I'd walked up and slapped an expensive bottle of Soma out of her hands.
My blush was atomic, although not for the reasons Tsubaki probably thought. I didn't like speaking ill of people, but sometimes my thoughts got ahead of my lips, and when I did and got caught it just magnified my embarrassment one hundred-fold. I'd made a mental note to apologize to Aiz Wallenstein if I ever saw her again, but considering it had been three months I probably wouldn't be seeing her again any time soon.
So, other than my classes with Hephaestus, my training with my magic, and my near-daily excursions into the Dungeon to acquire wealth, my first year in the Hephaestus familia was slow and uneventful, which was honestly pretty damn great because I thought for sure that my Protagonist-Aura would kick in and force me to do something silly like resolve some sort of child-trafficking ring and force me to fight for my life while facing scumbag Adventurers outside of my level.
All the while I lamented my inherent need to eschew status updates just to eke out every possible gain for the floors I had been restricted to in the Dungeon!
Nope, it appeared as though while my seeming lack of a Protagonist-Aura worked against me in that I didn't have established Major Characters falling out of the sky into my lap to teach me all of the important shit I needed to learn, it also meant that I didn't have life-threatening situations leaping onto my back at every turn; the Fate of this universe trying desperately to claw my eyes out at every opportunity. It was very nice because it allowed me to focus on the important things, like my smithing training.
"-now that we know why heat treatment and tempering are very important to the forging process, I think it is time we do as we always do, and view a practical demonstration," Hephaestus spoke with a smile on her face.
This was the last lesson of the day, and my Goddess saved the topics that required such demonstrations for a reason; it was a lot easier for her to run through the classroom instruction first and then go through the practical instructions at the end. If only because she didn't want a bunch of curious children running around the primary forge building and poking things or bothering the various smiths while they were about their business. It also served to keep the children motivated to pay attention during the lessons because there was always the possibility that something cool would be shown off at the end.
It was effective too.
I remember at the end of our very first day of lessons Hephaestus went through the creation of a simple letter opener from start to finish in about an hour and a half; from drawing out the bar stock to forging the letter opener's blade and handle, grinding out the bevels on the small blade, and conducting a normalization cycle. She didn't bother heat-treating or tempering the blade as it was not something meant for combat. Needless to say, she made everything look positively effortless, which I felt was a little off-putting, if only because it put unrealistic expectations in the children's minds about just how easy smithing actually was.
The metal flowed out from the bar stock with each strike of her hammer, the tacky steel acted like it was bending itself to her will with each shaping blow, and when she began to grind it all down the material seemed to know exactly what she wanted and allowed itself to be removed with each revolution of the stone grinding wheel.
Hephaestus wanted a letter opener, and the steel rushed to comply.
It certainly kept the kids entertained though, and even if I was bursting full of energy myself watching her captivated me in a way I didn't think was possible.
I often found myself staring at expert chefs as they moved about their kitchens when I was in culinary school and wondered if I had it in me to move like that, but with Hephaestus, it was like that and more; her Divine presence and aura just highlighted how she could have used her Authority to simply will such a letter opener into existence, but she lowered herself to mundane means because she was so damn passionate about her Domain that taking such a shortcut was blasphemy. It cheapened the connection between the smith and whatever it was they were making.
It was beautiful.
Myself and the seven other students that had survived to the end of this year followed Hephaestus out of the small classroom she had built near the entrance to her forging district- a nice little space where the winds seemed just perfect with how the streets and wall was laid out to keep the smoke from the forges away- and towards the primary smithing compound in a little nook near the entrance where she typically held her impromptu lessons for the active smiths. She mainly did those little lessons for them when they were taking a break from their current orders or were waiting for their normalization cycles to finish.
She took us inside, gave us the same spiel about staying in the nook and not bothering the other smiths while she went to one of the back rooms, and retrieved her props for this particular demonstration. Of course, two of the kids- although I say kids they were both 13-years-old but compared to me they were all children- had to push the limits of Hephaestus' patience by riding the line of what was the nook and observing the smiths as close as they could. The smiths for their parts just smirked or smiled indulgently; more than a few were wistful, no doubt the men and women remembering a time when they looked at forging with the same awe and enthusiasm as the children were now.
Of course, just as always, they were properly chided by my Goddess upon their return and she returned she had four small steel bars in her hands.
"These four bars of Low-Steel were draw out from the same bar stock, but considering the topic we covered today, can anyone guess what the differences between them are?" The Goddess smiled as she fanned the four half-inch thick rectangles in front of the children for them to closely observe them.
I had long since stopped raising my hand and answering if only to help out by forcing the other kids to think; I would only answer if it was clear that no one else knew. Himiko, a 13-year-old girl whose mother and father were of the Kagu-Tsuchi smithing familia, was the one I was banking on to be one of the children who would finish out the Goddess' courses and be taken on as an apprentice. She was literate, could speak Koine, Far Eastern, and Dwarven - due to her Far Eastern father and Dwarven mother- and had a leg up on the other kids simply because she grew up in the smithy.
The young girl looked like she ate coal and spit out nails, but while she had resting bitch-face, she was quite pretty and very attentive for a child; if anything it unnerved me a little bit how well she paid attention, but I couldn't criticize since people probably felt the same way about me.
"Those look like a normal bar stock, one that has been normalized, one that has been normalized and heat-treated, and one that has been normalized, heat-treated, and tempered." Himiko's shoulders drew back as the Goddess nodded at her answer, and a proud smile tugged at the half-Dwarf's lips.
"Very good, Himiko-chan. Yes, that is indeed the case, however, since we were just discussing the effects of normalizing, heat-treatment, and tempering on steel, that should be a given." A blush formed on Himiko's face at Hephaestus' teasing, but thankfully the Goddess saw fit to leave it at that for her sake.
I watched as she placed the bars into a set of vice grips and she struck each bar multiple times with a large sledgehammer with all of her strength. The normal steel folded over with just a handful of blows while the normalized steel deformed less but still was far too soft from what you would want in a blade. The normalized and heat-treated stock deformed far less than either- the material much more rigid, but after Hephaestus' sixth blow the bar seemingly shattered under the force, sending bits of steel skittering over the floor. The final stock- the normalized, heat-treated, and tempered steel- resisted each hammer blow with surprising strength, the steel only bending mildly; the Goddess was able to hammer it back to true with just a few spirited taps against an anvil.
"So, as you can see, while steel is very hard by normal standards, children, it can still be deformed. It is up to the smith to properly heat-treat and temper the material so that it can be stronger than it would be otherwise; a blade that has been bent in the Dungeon can be hammered back to true even while cold should the smith have sufficient strength to do so. However, with a shattered blade?" The red-head held out the fragments of the 3rd stock in her gloved hand before she dropped it into the Low-Steel scrap bucket to be melted down, "The best you can do is recycle it. Are there any questions about what you learned today?"
The children shook their heads before they all hugged the smithing Goddess and ran back to the classroom to gather their things and head home for the day.
For my part, I gave my Goddess a bow and smiled. "I am going to do my chores and then head off into the Dungeon today, Hephaestus-sama. Is Tsubaki free to escort me today, or will I need to stick to the 3rd Floor?"
She shook her head. "Unfortunately Tsubaki-chan is working on an Adamantium project for me, so she'll be quite busy for the next few days. Best to stick to the 3rd Floor."
I nodded and turned to walk towards wide open double doors of the forge and she called out to me. "Be careful, okay?"
A grin spread across my face as I waved at her over my shoulder. "Of course! I have a Goddess worth coming home to every day, I'll be careful!"
"Come on you little fucker. Come on. You're a little bit later than usual today, but if you'd been killed I would have heard about it." I whispered to myself as I laid myself out on the ground at the corner of my usual Jack Bird kill-spot with my little "hunter's blind" set up. I had a dark grey cloth wrapped around my head to conceal my shock of white hair and face; only my eyes were visible as my small-sized Supporter pack obscured most of my body. My bow was in hand with an arrow nocked and ready to be drawn, but in this position, the best I could get would be a half-draw, but since the Jack Bird wasn't exactly a hearty opponent it was more than I needed.
The tip of the arrow poked out between the corner of the wall and the corner of my pack, and I was forced to do the one thing I hated most but learned to tolerate as a soldier and get good at as a hunter. "Hurry up and wait, huh?"
I was forced to kill a half dozen Goblins over the better part of half an hour until I saw that fucking Rooster come strutting down the corridor like he always did; the little bastard walked like he owned the place, his head bee-boppin' and his clawed feet scritch-scratchin' away. It was uncanny just how close this monster looked to a real chicken that always threw me off, and make no mistake, this was a monster. Sure, it was incredibly weak for a monster, but if this thing ever decided to leave the Dungeon and happened upon a mortal settlement it would be like that rabbit from the Holy Grail- a monster chicken slaughtering mortals until people realized just how dangerous it was.
A normal mortal could handle goblins in the Dungeon without a falna, and with goblins formed on the surface, it was more like handling a child than an adult male in the package of a child. I don't know if there has actually ever been anyone killed by the Jack Bird itself, but there was no doubt in my mind that its deceptive appearance would be the death of any unblessed mortal who believed it to be a mere chicken.
I drew back my bow, the end of the arrow brushing up against my belly button, and I released. The damn chicken stopped and lowered its head to peck at the ground as he was wont to do, and the arrow sailed right over him. The cock startled briefly, his wings flapping as he hopped to the side and observed the area around him before he settled down again. I missed. Again. This was the 7th week in a row, but I'm getting closer, and for me, that is all that matters.
To be fair, it was only because I didn't aim center-mass like I used to do when I first started this farming rotation a year ago; in order to keep up with my ever-increasing self-imposed difficulty, I was now aiming for headshots on a target the size of an egg while laying on my side from almost sixty meters away. I slowly drew another arrow, nocked it, and fired again, this time aiming for center-mass; I needed to kill him before he got me within his magical 50-meter 'Big Cock Sphere of Sensory Bullshit' and started to run off. I'd never catch the bastard for the rest of the day if he did that.
If there was one thing that never got old, however, it was the elaborate death animation that the Jack Bird went through each time I punched an arrow into his chest; the bird's wings gripped the shaft dramatically as he stumbled left and right until he theatrically collapsed, the avian monster just barely managing to cover his face with a wing before he dispersed into dust leaving his tiny magic stone and the egg behind.
I grinned as I stood up, taking an opportunity to slip a few arrows into my fingers as I moved towards the stone and the egg; I'd been ambushed at this location before by Goblins and Kobolds while retrieving the egg, and I learned not to take any chances. The egg was warm and smooth in my hand, just a touch bigger than an actual hen's egg, and just as I was about to slip it into my pouch the scuffing of boots echoed down the corridor, and a man wearing trashy leathers and even shittier clothes underneath skid around the corner.
His beard was patchy and unkempt, the lines of his face were deep, almost as if they'd been etched into his face with a chisel, and his eyes were bloodshot to hell and back.
There was only one familia in the city that had Adventurers who looked like they were constantly blitzed on heroin, and that was the Soma familia.
Don't get me wrong, there were Opium dens in the Far Eastern quarter of the city in the Entertainment District, but the people that frequented them were Adventurers with Abnormal Resist; the Developmental Ability helped them shrug off the negative effects of the drug and fought off the majority of the addiction. It was actually one of the safer- and far more enjoyable- methods of leveling the DA for the first few Ranks.
What would you rather do to Level up your Abnormal Resist? Stand on the 6th, 7th, and 8th Floors and let the various moths douse you with poison, irritant, or paralysis powders? Or would you rather smoke opium and enjoy the high while getting sucked and fucked by one of the whores there?
It is a pretty easy choice, in all honesty.
The issue I'm having is that I'd done well with avoiding the Soma pukes during my time here, and now when Tsubaki isn't here to scare them off with a glare my Protagonist-Aura is finally acting up! Fuck!
"H-hey there kiddo," The man twitched as he scratched at his beard with one hand, "What'cha got there, huh?"
I forced myself to relax. Maybe I didn't need to kill the guy?
"Ah, the silent type, that's cool. I can respect that." He took a few shuffling steps forward. "So you're the infamous Cock-Slayer, huh? I've been trying to figure out how you were killing the Jack Bird for the past few months now, trying to learn your secret. S'a lot of money for just a brat to be bringin home, right?"
"So I thought to myself, 'Hey, why don't I just find out how he does it and I can do it myelf?' Although that looked to be a fair bit more tricky than I thought, I'm sure I could do the same if given some time." He smiled a little bit and drew a wicked-looking long-bladed knife. "Anyways, you seem like a smart kid, so how's about we do it like this. You hand over the egg and stop farming the Jack Bird and I'll let you walk away; unlike you, I need the money. Familia tithes are going up by a lot since our new Captain took over and things are getting real tight, yanno? It's hard for us little people out here, so you get to walk away, and I get to farm the bird. Pretty good right?"
He rubbed at his chin and gestured at me with the knife. "Sound like a deal?"
Give up my farming spot just so he can get a fix? Fuck no . More importantly, he'd have no problem shanking me and leaving me to die down here if I didn't hand over the egg and give up on a Million valis per week? Well, the Soma cats have killed people for far, far less.
I made a big display of looking sad before nodding, "O-okay. Y-you can have the egg, mister. I love my Goddess and I want to return to her safely, so you can have it a-and the farming spot. I-I don't need the money anyway."
He grinned and walked closer, and I kept my bow low while I held out my outstretched hand with the Jack Bird egg resting in my palm. "Good, good. Now don't try anything stupid. That's it. Smart kid-"
When he reached out to take egg I gave it a little pop into the air, and being a drug-addled fool who didn't see me as a threat without a blade in my hand, his eyes and hand tracked the egg on the way up. Just as his head tilted up I dropped low to my knees, my form hidden by his chin and beard, and drew my bow from the hip. At this distance, I didn't need a full draw to kill him, and I certainly didn't need to bring the arrow to my cheek to aim either; he was more likely a Level 1, with equal or lower stats than I had if how slow he was at catching the egg indicated.
The moment his hand closed around the egg I released the arrow, the bodkin-tip arrowhead easily defeating his Level 1 Endurance; the steel tip punching through the floor of his mouth, his tongue, piercing the bottom of his nasal cavity and up until his brain. The man convulsed as he rag-dolled onto his knees and collapsed onto his back; the egg leaving his hand and gently rolling off of his fingertips across the stone ground of the Dungeon floor.
I stood up, regaining my feet before I bent down and picked up the egg before breathing a sigh of relief as I found that there were no cracks in its surface. The hardened leather pouch I purchased for the Jack Bird egg was popped open, and the egg was safely ensconced in the fluffiest fabric I could get my hands on before I snapped the pouch back shut.
I kept the egg on my person at all times because even if I was forced to abandon everything else I had in my small Supporter Pack, as long as the egg made it out with me I would still come out way, way ahead. The pack itself was 50,000 valis, but it was made from a sturdy, treated canvas, and the rations, potions, and bandages I kept inside of it were another 50,000 valis. I had a thigh pouch made from treated orc leather that had a cork insert where I kept my potions; I could carry five in total- 1 Mind Potion, 1 Stamina Potion, and 3 healing potions. I had two High Potions which cost me 10,000 valis each, and one Low-Grade healing potion for when I didn't have enough time to stand still and chant out my Soothing Touch spell.
A sneer curled my lip back and I kicked the bastard's body after I yanked the arrow from his head.
"You stupid bastard, don't you understand that we shouldn't be fucking each other over down here? We mortals, we're supposed to be on the same side!" A low hiss escaped my lips as I began looting his corpse of anything that might be valuable and could be concealed easily in my pack, "But noooooo, you have to be a worthless piece of shit who thinks that stealing from children is okay! Well, now look at you, where did that get you, huh?"
His short-sword, hide buckler, and the knife went into my pack; they could be melted down for scrap and reforged into something useful. The only other thing that looked to be of value were his boots, and I wasn't about to take those things off of his corpse; who knew how badly they stank!
The 4,570 valis he had in his coin pouch joined the coin in my own pouch, and I began dragging his body off the main path towards one of the little side pockets that people rarely traversed around; I knew this because I ambushed the Jack Bird at this spot every damn week, and almost nobody came down here unless they were taking the shortest path to the 2nd Floor.
The Dungeon seemed happy to help me clean up the mess because as soon as I rolled the guy's body down the slope into the little cul-de-sac-like area at the dead-end of the tunnel, a quartet of Kobolds spawned from the wall and began to savage the guy's corpse the moment they gained their bearings.
I didn't stick around the watch the proceedings.
With my mood soured by that asshole I left the Dungeon, turned my Jack Bird egg over to the Guild receptionist, and held up two fingers to signal the anonymous teller on the other side that I wanted a 'discreet' payout; no advertising my earnings for all and sundry to hear- no sir!
1,03,980 valis. Even without the Jack Bird egg, 4,000 valis for just three hours spend on the 1st Floor wasn't bad at all, especially since I wasted an hour of that time just waiting on the damn cock to even show up. No doubt that bastard was the reason it was late- the fool probably ended up chasing it off and pushing its patrol path further ahead, forcing me to wait for it to settle back down and resume its normal routine.
I was about to leave when my Dungeon Advisor, Sophie, caught me on my way out and pulled me into the back office. "Winter-kun, if you'd please come with me?"
I nodded and slipped around the large wooden counter and followed the silver-haired elf, doing my best to not stare at her ass and how the Guild uniform's pants looked to be just painted on. It was difficult since I was just a head taller than ass-level with her, but I managed it, somehow.
When we stepped inside the room I sat my pack down and hopped into the chair while Sophie followed in after me before seating herself across from me. "We will be waiting on just one more person, Winter-kun."
When I nodded my assent we made small talk while we waited. "Your dive seemed a little short today, did it not? You're usually down there for four or five hours at least. What changed?"
I tilted my head. "Well, Tsubaki-sama wasn't there with me, so I decided to just kill a few Goblins and Kobolds, and kill Mr. Bird while I was at it."
The silver-eyed elf's lips tugged up into a smile as she folded her hands in her lap. "Of course, I would expect nothing less of the city's Highest-Earning Level 1. You never let an opportunity to catch the Jack Bird pass you by."
Her smile faded away as her posture became a little more rigid. "However, even after getting the Jack Bird egg, you never leave the Dungeon early. Something happened, what was it?"
I sighed and removed my dark head covering before scrubbing a gloved hand through my hair. "Man, I really can't pull one by you, can I, Sophie-san?"
She shook her head before gloved fingers pushed her silver hair back behind her long, pointed ears. "I have a sixth-sense about these things, Winter-kun. While you might be one of the Adventurers who aren't constantly trying to give me an ulcer, you still have your tells. I know when something is bothering you."
"I don't suppose you'd let me know what those tells are, will you?" I couldn't stop the half-smile from tugging at my lips. Humor wasn't my strong suit.
The elf didn't speak, instead merely gesturing for me to gather my thoughts and let it all out. I took a few moments to organize what I wanted to say as my gloved fingers interlaced themselves in front of my belly. "I was ambushed by an Adventurer in the Dungeon after I killed the Jack Bird."
She inhaled sharply through her nose, a severe frown tugging at her lips, but I held my locked fingers up and stopped her from speaking. If you're going to force this out of me, then at least let me finish my thoughts, woman!
"He admitted to stalking me the past few months, trying to figure out how I was managing to kill it with such success. He pulled a large knife and told me to hand over the egg, and not to bother coming back for the Jack Bird in the future. The threat was readily apparent." I relaxed my hands and scratched at an itch on the side of my nose. "I tossed the egg, forcing him to catch it, and then I released my arrow and neutralized the threat. A pack of Kobolds forced me to disengage and return to my belongings."
The woman slumped in her chair, her fingers coming back to massage her temples. "Do you know what familia he belonged to?"
I arched an eyebrow. "The only familia in the city that is addicted to wine to the point where they would ambush other Adventurers to take their hauls, their gear, and their coin?"
She worried her lower lip. "This should be reported."
My neck popped as I shook my head. "How many complaints have been levied against the Soma familia thus far? More importantly, has it made any difference? No, filing a complaint would be just admitting to them I slew one of their members, and while the guy was alone, he might not have been the only one of his fellows he blabbed about 'following the Cock Slayer and taking his shit' to. It would be safest just to let his body stay buried, in a manner of speaking."
Her eyes drifted over towards the light shining through the window. "Killing monsters is one thing, Winter-kun, slaying another mortal is another. Are you okay?"
I shifted in my chair to make myself a little more comfortable; the thin leather cuirass I was wearing was not meant to be worn while seated. "I was a hunter before I came to Orario, Sophie-san. I hunted deer, elk, wolves, Garrick beasts, surface monsters, and bandits. This is not the first time I've killed a mortal, and until the Soma familia realizes that all of us Children are on the same side and should be united against the Dungeon, then it probably won't be the last."
"Children shouldn't be forced to kill their fellow mortals." It was a nice sentiment, but ultimately foolish in its naivety. The elf wiped her nose on the back of her glove as she blinked back a few tears before the door opened and a surprising face stepped into the room.
"H-hello, my name is Eina Tulle, and I will be taking over as your Dungeon Advisor." The bespectacled brown-haired elf bowed toward me after she closed the door behind her. "You will be my first Adventurer, Winter-kun, and I look forward to advising you in the future."
She was younger than she had been in canon, of course, but that was because I was years ahead of it. I turned my grin back to Sophie. "You didn't mention my new Advisor was so cute, Sophie-san."
Needless to say that Hephaestus was none too pleased with my recounting of my Dungeon dive and the slaying of the Soma member. Not at me, of course, but at the situation. Since she just couldn't view my experiences because I didn't do frequent updates, I had resolved to keep her informed of anything outside the norm for my Dungeon dives.
No, that is a lie. She was actually very displeased with me because of the risk I took to bring him down, and she banned me from dives for a month while doubling my chores to keep me "occupied".
Instead of complaining about my misfortune, I merely increased my amount of training with Tsubaki when she was free, but that doubled the costs of my lessons from 25,000 valis to 50,000 valis. In the beginning, she had tried to do it for free, but I adamantly refused- her skills as a smith capable of enchanting and molding Adamantium weapons meant that her time was incredibly valuable. In the hundreds of millions of valis kind of valuable.
Even if it was just her free time, it was time she could have been using to tutor her junior smiths or spend on improving herself. The 25,000 valis I was able to pay her on a consistent basis thanks to my Jack Bird income was at least enough to pay for all of the chest wrappings she went through, and maybe enough to get her pampered at the Entertainment district; she went there at least once a week to get rubbed down and have her hair, nails, hands, and feet taken care of after a long week in the forge.
The high heat from the fires was murder on a girl's hair, who would have thought?
A shock ran through my arms as my twin-daggers impacted against the flat of Tsubaki's katana, and I back-pedaled as quickly as I could to avoid her retaliatory swipe. I leaned my head back and to the side instead of ducking like I used to do, having learned my lesson about how easily a stronger Adventurer could adjust the trajectory of their strikes mid-swing; getting your face cut open was not fun at all.
"Good, you're learning," The half-dwarf remarked as he foot snapped out and caught me in the gut, sending me skidding across the dirt in the yard.
Bile and my lunch spewed from my lips, but I managed to struggle to my feet while keeping my guard up. I learned long ago I could puke while running in the Army- the Rangers were positively fond of long, arduous runs. It was practically the official past-time. The issue I found myself struggling with was how does one regain their breath when their diaphragm is collapsed and vomit obstructed the airways?
The answer was simple; vomit faster, and vomit harder. Get the evil out.
I squeezed my guts as much as I could to force the remains of my stew past my lips, and when I was finally able to breathe again I took a slow but measured approach to regain the initiative; well, actually, it was to give myself time to actually breathe because I knew that if I wasn't advancing, then Tsubaki would.
She would give me far less time to recover.
I closed the distance and swiped with one blade, a cross-strike that would have cut into her elbow had her blade not intercepted it; my second blade forced her to lean back as it struck right towards her throat. With her balance off and blade occupied, I lashed out with a kick that impacted against her leg. However, since she was faster than me, Tsubaki was able to bend her legs just a bit so that my steel toe struck against her outer thigh instead of her knee-cap.
A smack echoed across the small courtyard and I made distance again, although I was not able to fully avoid the tip of her blade that grazed my chin; the katana was so damn sharp I didn't even know I had been cut until I heard the tell-tale sound of liquid dripping onto my leather forearm guard.
The half-dwarf grinned broadly as she sheathed her sword and placed her hands on her hips. "Getting better every day, Bell-kichi. I almost felt that kick!"
I nodded and relaxed my stance, inspecting my daggers before resheathing them; the blades were cracked from the bout as she amped up her strength towards where a Level 2 would be at just to give me a feel for how much at a disadvantage I would have been if I tried to fight a Soma member who was indeed stronger than me. My guard crumbled under the force of her blows, but I did manage to slow them down enough to where I could prevent the strikes from landing on my body.
As for the kick? Well, had I landed that on someone of my Level that would have severely bruised them and hampered their mobility, and if I managed to strike the knee like I was aiming for? I would have shattered it entirely.
The issue is that with Tsubaki's Level 5 Endurance, nothing I could do would more than tickle her. In the beginning, I tried to be careful with my blades and the shot placement of my arrows since it was the first time I ever went all out in a spar against another mortal before, but she quickly disabused me of that notion of 'holding back'.
The woman had grabbed my hand with one of my daggers in it and she pulled it towards her exposed belly. In a brief moment of insanity, I had forgotten that Adventurers were not normal, and I struggled against her with all of my might… but she held my hand in a vice grip that I couldn't budge no matter how hard I tried. I watched in horror as the tip of the dagger pressed against her beautiful skin and it indented until it met the veritable wall of muscle that was her abdomen, and much to my shock the blade didn't penetrate.
No, with her strength guiding my hand, the steel blade snapped and went shooting off to the end of the small training ground. Her flesh was unmarred, and I never felt more relieved.
"You're a good kid, Bell-kun. I'm glad that you struggled against me so hard, it really warms my heart, you know?" The half-dwarf released my hand and buried my face in her breasts as she hugged me close. "However, you don't need to hold back against me; you could shoot me in the eye with one of your arrows and it would bounce right off. The Endurance of a Level 4 Adventurer is nothing to scoff at… the sooner you realize this the better."
That had been ten months ago, and she gained her Level 5 since then, further cementing her place in the Hephaestus familia as the Captain; the only one stronger than her now was Vornir, and when it came down to capabilities as a smith and an administrator? Tsubaki seemed to get the paperwork done a lot more quickly, and she was catching up to the old dwarf in the forge as well. It was only a matter of time until she became the Gold Standard that every other smith in Orario was measured against besides the smithing Divines themselves.
"You're using your body a lot more, which is good because a lot of Adventurers forget that their fists and feet can hurt monsters just as easily as their swords, spears, clubs, hammers, and axes can." The woman's words cut through my musings as she dumped a bucket of water over my head. I sputtered and coughed as I wiped the water from my face and followed after her as she walked away with her hands and the bucket tucked behind her head.
"Was that really necessary?" I griped a little bit, trying not to acknowledge how good it felt to complain and act my age. "You always do that."
"Nope!" She grinned at me, "But you were getting lost in your head again, and this seems to be the only thing that stops you from taking a leisurely stroll down memory lane."
I followed along behind her, trying my best to not look like a water-logged grumpy rabbit.
I'd like to think I managed to accomplish this well enough, the smiths snickering at me as we passed them by needed to get their eyes checked.
Shovel in, shovel up, toss.
Shovel in, shovel up, toss.
Shovel in, shovel up, toss.
The other apprentice hopefuls had already done home for the rest of the day, but since Hephaestus doubled my chores I will still here, by myself, shoveling coal into the many wagons that would be hand-carted over to the various forges around the district to be offloaded. Sure, a Level 3 could fill up this wagon in a tenth of the time it took me to do it, but I'm pretty certain that menial, petty labor like this built character.
Not that I was unused to doing such things- the Army wasn't much different; I'd unpacked and repacked my rucksacks so many damn times for spot inspections that I could do them in my sleep- the same for our vehicle inspections when we were on deployment.
To think that I would never jump into a combat zone despite being in an Airborne unit. That Jump Master certification course was barely worth the effort it took to get it on my paperwork, not that any of that experience was worth a damn here anyway.
No, I wasn't bitter.
I might not be jumping out of an airplane any time soon, but the skills I learned there were serving me well enough- getting used to mundane repetition until it was second nature was a valuable skill to have; even if the skill itself was the ability to do said mundane repetition without pulling your hair out in frustration at the sheer boredom of it all.
And up… clench at the top, and down.
And up… clench at the top, and down.
And up… clench at the top… hold… 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, and down.
A breath of relief escaped me as I lowered the buckets filled with scrap steel to the ground and unwove the ropes from around my hands so that I could unhook my legs and lower myself to the ground. I had to lay down and stretch myself out slowly because the inverted crunches I'd been doing wiped me out every single time I performed them; my hip flexors were screaming at me until they were finally relaxed enough for me to lay my legs flat against the dirt. My face felt like an overripe tomato because I had been hanging upside down for so long, but thankfully I didn't get a nosebleed this time around.
The afternoon sun faded away as I cracked my eyes open and caught sight of Tsubaki's grinning mug. "Finished for the day, Bell-kichi?"
"Yeah, just give me a few more minutes so that I can actually get up. My core is shot." I grunted and weakly gestured over to my Whisperwood staff leaning against a bench just outside of my reach. "However, if you gave me my staff, I could get up maybe a few minutes sooner."
The smooth, light wood smacked into my outstretched palm as the half-dwarf replied. "Well, go ahead and get ta' chant'n there, oh Great Mage of the Hephaestus familia! Our Goddess wants you in the forge and as fresh as you can be. She wants you to get your feet wet in a time-honored tradition here- your first project."
My first project?
I didn't need any more cajoling as I spun up my Mind and began the initial weaves for the Soothing Touch spell as the chant started to leave my lips.
"My body aches from the day's labor, my form is weary from the struggles of the past."
"I seek relief from the pains that ail me, and find refuge in the grace that the Heavens provide me."
"Let my pains be eased, my wounds mended, and my vitality returned."
"Soothing Touch."
I pressed my now-glowing hand against my belly and felt my muscles immediately respond; the micro-tears mended and the inflammation in the connective tissues lessened. I felt some of my strength return to me, but it was more akin to having a caffeine dope from a particularly strong shot of espresso; this spell wasn't nearly as powerful as the Spring Vitality spell I had been eyeing for the better part of three months, but just from speaking to the old Witch I was far away from having the control needed to learn that spell. That spell was noted to rejuvenate the person healed as if they'd had a rather significant rest, but for the floors I was on, it would be considered overkill.
I managed to struggle my way to a seated position and I looked up at the woman. "How long that time?"
When I was casting a spell, coaxing my mana through the required weaves, I made sure to take my time to do them right. Ignis Faatus was extremely painful to endure- like having one's muscles seize up in a charley-horse- and the main lingered for a good long while after fucking up the cast. Control first, speed second, power third; that was my modus operandi for my self-taught magical lessons.
"Three and a half minutes, there abouts. Give or take a few seconds." The woman reached down and grasped my outstretched arm and pulled me to my feet. "Not bad for being self-taught, Bell-kichi; most people don't make it past their first Ignis Faatus, so the fact that you're still sticking with it even now without a teacher to guide you is pretty darn good in my opinion."
I felt my lips purse. I wouldn't be healing myself mid-combat with a cast time like that- I'd have to start practicing concurrent chanting; even taking a single step each time I chanted a line would be an improvement.
It really drove home just how much easier Bell Cranel had it - the kid was gifted a super intuitive spell worth a Hundred Million valis and here I was slumming it with the other kids hoping to learn.
It also kept me focused. Grounded. Just like archery, sword fighting, Dungeon diving, and blacksmithing… magic was the journey of a thousand steps.
"Just put one foot in front of the other and take another step."
I had been excited to present myself to Hephaestus, even in the filthy, tired state I was in; yes I was sweaty and nasty, but I was about to go into a forge where I would get sweaty and nasty anyway.
She smiled at me and proudly presented me with my very first smithing hammer, a simple 3-pound hammer with a rounded face. Next to the forge on a small podium covered in a purple velvet cloth was to be my first challenge.
Every damn smith seemed to be in attendance, all of the gruff-faced men and hard-faced women were all packed in tightly in the small corner of the forge as Hephaestus gripped the edge of the cloth between her pointer finger and thumb.
"Just over a year ago Bell Winters came to us a boy. He was incredibly experienced for one as young as him- an accomplished archer, a decent fighter, and an outstanding hunter." Hephaestus' gaze swept over every smith as a small, wry grin tugged at her lips. "Since that day, Winters-kun has been hard at work for the familia, accomplishing every task set before him, be they homework, chores, or various other errands. Tsubaki-chan has informed me that he's performing exceedingly well in the Dungeon for his age, and in my own classes with the prospective apprentices he has been attentive and curious."
"I think that he has the same fire that dwells within the heart of every smith, to seek out knowledge so that it can be better applied to our craft. To forge the blade of the next Great Adventurer, or to put a solid blade in the hands of the poorest among our numbers so that they can come home from the Dungeon safely." The Goddess' gaze turned towards me and her lone eye shimmered, "We are gathered here today to witness the unveiling of his very first project."
"This is something that every smith here has gone through, and I remember all of your surprised faces fondly." Hephaestus looked back over the crowd as the smiths chuckled and elbowed one another with hushed whispers.
"Bell Winters, you have watched me and the various smiths here perform their craft for over a year now, and you've tried your hand with the very hammer in your hands more than once. It is time for you to take the next step forward in your journey of becoming a smith so that you can brush shoulders with the fellows surrounding you." She tugged lightly at the cloth, dragging my attention away from her plump, oh so kissable lips and towards the podium, "You have eagerly devoured every introductory lecture I can give without making you an official apprentice. You have learned, so now it is time for you to do."
"Pass this test and you will be an official Apprentice of the familia. Should you fail… well it is better we don't talk about what would happen." Her smile twisted into a smirk as a pair of dwarves broke into boisterous laughter.
She tugged the velvet off and to my eyes was revealed-!
A coat hanger and one of those old-timey nails. My face scrunched up. "I wasn't expecting you to ask me to make a greatsword or anything… but I guess this fits."
Spoiler: The Grand First Test!
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Her pearly white teeth were revealed as her smirk transformed into a lip-splitting smile. "I need forty of these coat hooks and 500 nails by next week. A restaurant near the Tower called the Hostess of Fertility opened up a few years ago and requires some repairs after a recent brawl there caused some damage, and since she makes the best meat pie I have ever tasted, you're going to be helping her out by getting these to her on time. Any questions?"
I arched an eyebrow before one of my Big-Brain NCO thoughts came to my head. "Can I ask my fellow smiths for advice?"
The answer was, yes, I could ask my smiths for advice, however, they weren't required to give me good advice.
"Oh yeah, my advice to you is to stop asking for help and get back to work. Those nails aren't going to forge themselves."
"Bah! Questions? Questions are cheating my boy! Get back to work!"
"It is really cute how earnest you are dearie, but I think you might want to move your hammer more and your mouth less."
Come on, Darlene, you were my only hope!
There was one resource that I did have, and it was the smithing directory; while not all of the Hephaestus familia's methods and techniques were written down- for obvious reasons- there were hundreds of methods to make mundane items that had been immortalized on print in a small little library in the center of the compound. Without an indexing system of any kind, it took me almost three hours to find what I was looking for, but the directions for the particular coat hook and the nails that Hephaestus wanted were indeed written down.
In the end, it saved me a lot of trouble because while the nails weren't like the wire nails I was used to, they could be forged from a single long bar and then cleaved into smaller nails and finished off. No doubt everyone expected me to try and forge them individually, but nope! I copied down all of the directions for both and made my way back to the forge.
I might be a Ranger, but I can be
SMRT
too!
I had access to a fully stocked forge and all of the tools I would need to get the job done, and the first order of business was to take the three-inch nail blanks back to their positions and grab an armful of 1/8th inch wrought-iron bar stock. They were about a meter long and my forge just so happened to be a meter in depth. Perfect! I grabbed some starter coals and fired by forge up and tossed a dozen bars to heat while I wandered around the workshop and grabbed every empty container I could get my hands on.
I would need eight to get this working, one bucket for each step of the heat-treatment and tempering process, times two for the coat hooks and the nails. Darlene asked me why I was doing it all, and when I explained myself the woman smiled and patted me on the head with her soot-covered hands.
"Such a diligent boy you are, Bell-kun."
Once I finished scrubbing away the soot from my snow-white hair and pulled on a handkerchief and got to work.
First step is heating and forging the rod- taking it from its cylindrical shape and pounding it to a more rectangular base. Then I made cuts using a wedge and a hammer in the material about two and a half inches down as once I was finished forging each nail the material would stretch out to the three inches requested.
The Second step is room temperature normalization cycles- taking it up to its critical heat temperature of about 900 degrees and then letting it air cool; there was this nifty little magnet on the end of an iron rod that let me know when I reached this point as it was a bit difficult to tell from color alone. A more seasoned smith could probably do it, but most of my experience was from watching, but thankfully I didn't need all that experience because once the iron was up to temperature it stopped being magnetic! Huzzah for shortcuts!
I did this three times with each batch before I moved on to the next step, which was the oil quench. I had to get creative and use a metal pale of which I used a punch to fill full of holes, but when it was time for the quench all I had to do was pour the nails into the bucket and lower the bucket into the oil with a rope. Even with the step stool, I had to use I still roasted my arm hairs off as the superheated metal ignited some of the oil- the flames licking over my arms- but thanks to my Endurance it felt little worse than a sunburn. I was even able to practice my magic by healing myself!
The final step was tempering, which was putting the oil quenched nails into a steel tray and letting the stresses introduced by the forging and heat-treatment process get released over time by low heat for a few hours. I just put the nails in the tempering oven and moved into the next batch.
The nails were completed in three days, and then I moved into the coat hooks. It was a little tricky to get the curvature right every time, but after watching Darlene use chalk to line out where on her anvil horn she needed to forge her curves around - I'm pretty certain she was low-key helping me without helping me- it was a simple matter of hammering everything into shape. Getting the spade tips right was a pain, as they needed to be able to grip a coat without cutting into the coat, but after a dozen fuck-ups that were consigned to the scrap bin, I felt like I finally got them just about as close as Hephaestus wanted them from the example she gave me.
I almost fucked up by forgetting to punch in the nail holes for the hooks, but I caught myself thanks to my handy-dandy notebook an Army Approved Checklist. You don't know how much ass pain it would have been had I heat-treated and tempered the damn things, only to realize that I had forgotten the fucking mounting holes. I would have been forced to reheat them back up, punch the holes, and then go through the treatment process allllll oooovvvveeeerrrrrr aaaaagggggaaaaaiiiiiiinnnnn.
When I expressed how happy I was that I caught my mistake, the other smiths just guffawed and Darlene gave me another indulgent pat on the head. "Good job, dearie."
It took me a day and a half to finish those up, and after scraping the scale off with a hard steel brush I was two and a half days ahead of schedule when I called for Hephaestus to come and check my work.
The Goddess picked a handful of nails from each completed bucket and looked them over with a critical eye. "Hmmm… walk me through your process again?"
I proudly walked her through my process step by step, from my time savings using available bar stock rods instead of hand forging each and every single nail blank, to each step of the heat-treatment process and the little organizational system I used to keep my workflow nice and smooth.
"It was clever of you to think about the directory, not many of our apprentices do." She smiled as she put all but a few back into the bucket and handed them over to Tsubaki. "You followed the instructions step by step, yes?"
The half-dwarf carefully bent and snapped the nails before her expression became only what could be described as 'exuberantly-mirthful'.
I blinked. "Yes."
Hephaestus chuckled and shook her head. "You do realize that these are just going to be facade nails, right? They aren't structural; those would have been six inches in length at least. These nails didn't need to be heat-treated or tempered at all."
A frown marred my face as I thought about the many, many hours wasted getting all of that bullshit done.
The Goddess reached out, bending over slightly to pinch my cheek; whether giving me a slight peek at her cleavage because the top button of her shirt was undone was intentional or not, I didn't know. I just enjoyed the view from out the bottom of my vision as I kept my eyes locked onto her single red orb. "You did very well though, Winters-kun. So well in fact I think you deserve a reward."
My almost 40-year-old brain thought up a number of rewards that I would like, but my undescended testicles couldn't have cared any less. Instead, I had to settle for whatever she was actually going to give me.
I grinned. "I'm listening, Hephaestus-sama."
"Come on, laddie, put yer back into it! PUSH! PULL! PUSH! PULL!" Vornir roared as I furiously worked the bellows as hard as I fucking could.
Hephaestus apparently viewed me sitting in on an Adamantium ore-smelting session as a 'reward' for officially becoming an Apprentice Smith. The ore needed to get up to insane temperatures to be smelted properly, and that required lots of coal, lots of coke, and a whole bunch of manpower. There were four bellows that pushed air into the large furnace, and each one had to be working continuously to get the Adamantium nodes up to the mythical metal's melting point. Each bellow had three Level 3s taking turns pulling and pushing the levers, and not content to let me just sit by and watch, the former Captain of the familia kicked me into the rotation on the weakest performing bellow.
It was hot as a mother fucker! I had to wear water-soaked clothing and a headdress to even stand close enough to the furnace to work the bellows, and the heat was beginning to bleed easily through the extra thick smithing gloves provided to me. I felt like I was dying, literally. I could hardly breathe, and forcing my body to push and pull was a monumental effort.
Finally, I tapped out and one of the Level 3s pushed by me with a chuckle and took my place, his Level 3 Endurance allowing him to get close enough without suffering anything more than a sunburn with his clothing and face covering.
I barely managed to stumble my way outside of the forge and tossed myself into the water-filled trough for the horses and just reveled in how cool and moist my skin felt. I didn't care that the horse slobber mixed within it gave it a slimy film. I was cool. I was wet. I was no longer a frog in a kettle of boiling water where the water was my own sweat and tears.
I lounged there for a few minutes before I heard the Level 5 dwarf cry out. "The nodes are cracking! Get the forms ready!"
Water sloshed as I hauled myself out of the trough, one of the horses lapped at my face and knickered when I walked past. I walked back into the fucking oven that was the Adamantium smelting warehouse and watched as Level 3s covered from head to toe in thick, water-logged clothing maneuvered a large steel cart with a half-dozen ingot molds into place. The Adamantium door was tugged open with a chain and liquid gold began to dribble out down the chute and into the forms.
I was… awed at how much work and resources went into smelting Adamantium into bars no larger than what you might envision would be in a bank vault. Adamantium scrapers were thrust into the hole and every single drop was wrangled out of the furnace before it was sealed up and left to cool.
The golden metal ore shimmered in the waning light of the sun as it lost its temperature and began to solidify and harden.
"Sure is something, ain't it, boy?" Vornir spoke solemnly as he saddled up next to me, the one-eyed dwarf snuffling as he used the edge of his Adamantium Hammer Hand to scratch at his nose. "I remember when I was a boy, not a few years older than yourself when I witnessed my first Adamantium smelt. Goddess, feels like forever ago. Things were different back then with Zeus at the helm."
"Drops from the deepest parts of the Dungeon flowed like water, and Adamantium was just as plentiful as Mithril is today." He grunted, "Those six ingots are worth three and a half billion valis, my boy. Thirty years ago? They were worth less than a billion. Those Zeus familia boys went through Adamantium weapons and armor like shit through a goose."
He shook his head and rested his flesh and blood hand on top of my head. "Remember this day boy, one day it might be you standing where I was, hollering out orders."
I smiled. "Hopefully not too soon, I thought I was about to die."
"Heh, did well enough in my book. Go on back to your room and get cleaned up and take a rest. I'll let Hephaestus-sama know you'll be taking the day off tomorrow." He slapped my back before he began wiping his hand on his apron, "Go on, you smell like horse slobber!"
I was filthy, I was exhausted, but for some reason… I couldn't wipe the smile from my face.
As I walked back to my room I made a promise to myself: I would never do anything to piss Hephaestus off enough to put me on Blower duty.
That probably wasn't a promise I could keep, but I would be damned if I didn't try.
Chapter 3 - Overconfidence Can Be One's Undoing
[Bell Winters]
It has been 16 months since I first came to Orario, and despite the inherent danger of the Adventurer lifestyle, I had never once even come close to experiencing death. Hell, even in my past life, the closest the Grim Reaper's embrace ever came to grabbing onto me was when a rocket impacted the opposite side of a rebar-reinforced T-Wall while I was taking a shit in the porta-john.
It scared the literal shit out of me, and while it had been pulse-pounding at the time, the years after that I could always recount that story with a smile on my face and a laugh on my lips. If the rocket-jockey had aimed the rocket just 1/10th of a degree or so to the left he could have got me, with my literal pants down while dropping a deuce. It was something that could have come out of one of the Commando-Comedies of the 1980's starring Charlie Sheen.
It was hilarious even if it had been terrifying.
My first brush with death in the Dungeon was far less hilarious and far more terrifying.
After my 30-day Dungeon ban had been lifted by Hephaestus, I found that the amount of time I could spend in the Dungeon had been cut by a fairly significant margin- my 4 to 6 hour daily excursions had been curbed to 2 to 4 hours three days a week; maybe four days a week if I could cajole Tsubaki into coming with me.
If I am being honest, it shocked me how much just 30 days of not fighting for my life could degrade my skills. It took me the better part of two months to get back to where I had been before due to the greatly reduced hours and days I could go in and combat the monsters- fighting is not like riding a bike, and it took a concerted effort to get myself back up to par. By the third month, I was back to where I had been previously and I was back on track to improving once more.
Hephaestus had me handling a variety of different smithing projects, from making door handles and doorknobs to handling the more time-consuming steps of manufacturing the blades that the familia provided to the Guild for their "Partnership Program" where they sold weapons to the Dungeon Guild practically at-cost. Heat-treatment and tempering, grinding, and sharpening - chances are if you were a poor Adventurer and purchased a Low-Steel blade from the Guild because it was the best you could afford, then chances are I had worked on whatever longsword, shortsword, dagger, spearpoint, or arrowhead you were wielding in the Dungeon to slay monsters.
One of my great contributions to the Hephaestus familia was a jig that could be clamped onto the edge of a workbench that held whatever grit whetstone was needed in the sharpening process and could help you put the exact edge on whatever the weapon required using a simple bronze thumb screw and wingnut; a shortsword with a half-bevel needed a 13-degree edge, a longsword with a full-grind bevel needed a 15-degree edge, a dagger with a short-bevel needed a 10-degree edge. Thanks to the free-floating arm that could be manipulated easily on a well-lubricated ball joint, even things like axes with curved blade faces could receive the same edge all along the length with a single continuous stroke. The little contraption saved the Apprentices like me a boatload of time.
Thank you Facebook for the hundreds of ads that I didn't want to ever see but eventually saw anyways for helping me on my blacksmithing journey. However, since I was the newest of the Apprentices, I didn't get to use my own invention, because that was cheating. So I had to learn how to sharpen everything properly by hand first, and when I'd proven that I could get the edges just right every time, then I was allowed to utilize my time-saving "invention".
It wasn't all bad, however, as Hephaestus let me patent it and I now get a few thousand valis from the familia in royalties every time we make one- Mia Grand purchased four of them for her restaurant's kitchen knives, which made me smile as that was a glowing recommendation not just from one of the city's famous Level 6 Adventurers, but it was also from a fellow chef. That made me smile quite a bit.
So, yes, the reduction in Dungeon time brought about an improvement in my knowledge and skills as a smith, and it gave me time to practice my Magic more; I managed to get my cast time down to just under three minutes for my Soothing Touch spell. It was roughly a half-a-minute improvement, but it was still an improvement.
That was when I finally realized that despite having many more years before "canon" even started, I was finally running into the wall that TIME represented. There were only so many hours in the day, only so many days in the week, and only so many weeks in the year. If you focused on one thing, then inevitably the skills in another area would suffer; while one didn't need to continually work on one's body to have their Strength, Endurance, Dexterity, Agility, and Magic be maintained, as the falna kept them stable no matter how much time passed, the rate of growth for one's personal skills is directly correlated to how much time they can spend on improving them.
Spend more time in the Dungeon? Then my blacksmithing skills would grow more slowly and so would my Magic.
Spend less time in the Dungeon? Then my blacksmithing skills improve as I can take more projects and accrue more experience, however, my Magic would only improve in very small but still measurable increments.
It was a delicate balancing act for me that meant I needed to keep to a strict regimen on what I could and could not accomplish. The issue was that I already had a strict regimen- everything I did from the moment I woke up to the moment my head hit the pillow was laid out for me, with small gaps in time here and there to account for things running over.
Without being able to find a teacher to help me with my magic- during which I learned that not even my rabbit-like cuteness could win over some 'pretty Mage onee-sans', even when I offered to pay for their tutelage- advancing in my studies was dubious at best, so I was forced to continue playing it safe there. Trying to get my blacksmithing instructors or Hephaestus to push me through a more condensed training montage was utterly unthinkable when everything I did was steeped in tradition with over three hundred years of experience showing that doing things "this way worked".
It was so laughable that I chided myself thoroughly for even thinking of it. Just like fighting, blacksmithing was a process, one where you took orders and odd job requests that slowly but surely added something new to your blacksmithing 'tool-kit' each and every time you did it. I was learning something new every day, and even with the falna improving my memory retention I had to sacrifice almost an hour of my magic training at the end of the day to write down what I learned, utilizing pages upon pages of parchment to start by creating what I was going to call the "Blacksmith's Bible" .
It was going to be one of my major contributions to the familia and if I ever took the Captaincy from Tsubaki in the coming decades it was going to be required reading for every future Apprentice and incoming smith.
I felt like I was slowing down, which was an awful feeling when I was already more stagnant than pretty much every other Adventurer in the familia. After a few days of agonizing over a solution to my issues, I figured that the best that I could do is try and fit higher quality Dungeon time into the few hours I had available. That could only be accomplished by fighting tougher opponents and advancing in the Dungeon.
I felt some trepidation when Tsubaki and I finally made it down to the 5th Floor of the Dungeon, and already I could tell that there were a lot of small, tiny differences in the floor that the Guides I had read from the Guild had pointed out. The Floor was slightly darker overall, the bluish hues of the ambient lighting darkening to an inky purple, and where the walls had once been flat and straight there were now cracks, crevices, and protrusions that could hide the new monster native to this Floor: the War Shadow.
I remember the scene when Bell Cranel let Bete's barking get under his skin and he charged off into the Dungeon, killing monsters left and right with no regard to his own safety. The stupid bastard ran into a Monster Party that was comprised of like twenty War Shadows and the fucker somehow managed to kill them all.
That scene, in particular, I felt set the tone for various Danmachi fics I'd read in my previous life to make the War Shadow out to be just as much of a chump as the regular Goblins and Kobolds. Canon also failed to mention the Capsian Moths- grasshopper-like insect monsters the size of a small dog that released a cloud of powder when attacking that I could only compare to CS gas.
The shit irritated the fuck out of your eyes, made your nose run, your skin itch and burn, and it amped up your skin's sensitivity to the point where just wearing your armor was enough to make you want to take it off and cry. Thankfully, unlike CS gas, a good dousing of water neutralized the effects, as did the Soothing Touch spell. However, in a fight, having your vision blur over from the tears streaming out of your eyes, your breathing thrown off because you're hacking up a lung, and every cut and scrape you were experiencing get amped up to 11 made everything much more dangerous.
The Capsian Moths combined with the War Shadow's soundless footsteps and ability to conceal its form within the shadows the Floor provided really amped up the difficulty for me in a way that was overwhelming. For someone whose stats were frozen just outside of the range needed to navigate this Floor, it was a hellish training experience, but if I'm being honest, it was sort of fun. It forced me to move differently, to think less and either react better or be more proactive; I could no longer sit back and wait for the Goblins and Kobolds to make a mistake and then capitalize with a counter-attack, no, I had to go on the offensive or I would be pinned in by the Gobos and Kobos, disrupted by the Capsian Moths, and then finished off by a War Shadow.
More than a few times Tsubaki had to intervene and bail me out of a sticky situation, but the more I fought on the 5th Floor the less she needed to. I was learning their tricks, their patterns, and movements. I also learned that the Gobos and Kobos on the 5th Floor were a fair bit stronger and faster than their previous Floor counterparts, but with Adventurers getting frequent status updates that sort of muddled with their ability to properly gauge just how much stronger their opponents were. The interesting thing about it was that the Adventurers advanced in strength more quickly than the monsters did going down the Upper Floors, at least until they hit the 13th Floor, and that was where the Almiraj and Hellhounds showed off their lethality with group tactics and larger leaps in strength and ferocity as one advanced to the Minotaurs on the 17th Floor.
Still, I was at a wall when it came to my stats, a self-imposed wall, but a wall nonetheless. I could only improve in skill, and it was here fighting a small Monster Party with Tsubaki watching over me that I reached the ragged edge of my current limits; I could advance no further in the Dungeon with skill alone, and it was a most painful lesson to learn.
This particular Monster Party had been a Pass Parade, a small group of Adventurers from a familia neither myself nor Tsubaki could recognize, but at least they had the decency to stop when my Captain identified herself.
They were a trio of teenage female humans and a cute little cheinthrope with a sleepy expression. Her face tickled my memory, but I had more important things to focus on. "Tsubaki, I'm off."
"Fine, but be careful. I'll tend to them."
While the half-dwarf administered a High Potion to their most wounded member, I dropped my pack and drew my bow. Arrows flashed out at every target that ran around the corner, and I counted ten kills before I moved to close the distance- moving forward to meet and engage the monsters so that I had plenty of room to retreat rearward towards the spacious cavern and Tsubaki.
I managed to put down two Capsian Moths before I was forced to slide my bow over my shoulder and into the little leather clamp holster in the middle of my back to prevent it from moving around as I fought; my steel-toed boot pulping a Kobold's skull as my shortsword flashed out and removed a Goblin's head from its shoulders.
Goblin leaping- side-step and counter with a downward chop; good strike, the blade slipped between the discs of the monster's spine where the resistance was lowest to cleave it in two; had it hit the spine itself I might have chipped my Low-Steel blade edge and introduced microfractures.
War Shadow from the right- prioritize removal!
Kick Goblin in the chest, ward away a Kobold to make space, dash forward and through the gap made- thrust into the magic stone and immediately disengage; I was in the middle of the group now, and I had to pour every last ounce of willpower and skill I had accrued over the past 16 months into killing every monster in my path so that I could return to my position at the mouth of the tunnel. I gained a few cuts here and there, but my leather and chainmail did their jobs in keeping me from receiving more, and my retreat was rather timely as two more CS Moths landed right where I had been only a few seconds before; they were likely late additions to this Monster Party.
I threw my shortsword and speared two Kobolds together with it, freeing up my hands to draw my bow and three arrows- those CS Moths had to go; they were Priority Number One, while the War Shadows were Number Two, and everything else could be killed at my leisure. My legs carried me into the air so that I could get an angle, and my three arrows flew- one speared the insectoid monster through the head, killing it instantly, and the other pierced its abdomen and pinned it to the floor; my third arrow was turned towards the closest monster and then loosed.
When my feet touched the ground my bow was already holstered again and my twin daggers were drawn, and it was back to killing. Step back, thrust and pierce. Duck and thrust up, let the Kobold's forward momentum disembowel itself as it sailed over me.
Pain shot up my leg as a Goblin clamps its jaws around my calf where the leather for my boots and leg guards is at its thinnest- stab it through the head and take a few seconds to pry its jaws open by using the hilt of my dagger on its jaw hinge; sure, I have to defend myself from a static position with an awkward body posture, but it sure beats doing something silly like ripping my calf free along with a good chunk of my leg along with it.
I could have just stabbed the stone and been done with it- the less experienced me would have done it immediately without a single care for the valis lost, but I was at the peak of my game and more skilled than any four Adventurers combined of the same Level even with my handicapped Stats.
I was confident in my ability to defend myself while extricating from the Goblin's jaws, and while I was right- four more monsters died trying to capitalize- it allowed the most 5th Floor's dangerous opponent to pull one over on me.
The Capsian Moth that I had pinned to the Dungeon floor leaped forwards- freeing itself- and managed to get within spitting distance of me, and that was my downfall. By the time the dagger left my hand and speared it through the face, the insect had already flapped its wings and sent a small cloud of powder at me.
Leaping back only carried me out of the initial 'blast radius', but since this was a tunnel, the powder could only travel two directions- towards me and away from me. With the powerful wings on the monster, it was pretty easy to tell where the majority of it went.
My eyes immediately began tearing up, and it was hell forcing myself to slow my breathing to a stop so that I wouldn't get it in my lungs; my nose had already started leaking like a faucet by the time I resumed my battle with the remaining monsters. I continued to give ground, the skin on my face was on fire, and the powder was already irritating me at the joints where I lacked armor entirely. I started taking more wounds as my vision blurred with tears- I lost my left forearm guard entirely as a Kobold's fangs cut through the leather straps holding it in place; the teeth leaving deep gashes as he yanked it away.
Getting hurt… hurts.
The greatest failing of the falna in my humble opinion is that it does nothing to dull pain unless your Endurance is so much higher than whatever is attempting to damage you- Ottar could let a Minotaur wail on him and he would feel nothing at all, and Tsubaki didn't feel a thing when she snapped my Low-Steel dagger on her abs. However, if something could injure you, then you got to experience the full amount of pain that any other mortal could feel; the difference being the pain had to be immense to counteract the falna's Endurance, which meant that passing out from such immense pain really wasn't an option unless it was so debilitating that it could overcome the falna itself.
It left you with only one avenue for survival, and that is to fight through the pain.
I'd been cut, bitten, crunched on, kicked so hard that my ribs broke, among many, many other injuries during my years as an Adventurer, but nothing had prepared me for the sheer agony of having a War Shadow stuff his tri-clawed hand into my gut and attempt to pull my entrails out.
This one was smarter than the others, always at the edge of the fight, never taking any action until it knew for certain that I could not defend myself; most of the wounds I had taken in my retreat towards the cavern were from him- the bastard used his fellow monsters as a screen to lash out. His claws were easily able to part the leather and chainmail of my armor as they were both mundanely fashioned and made of mundane materials.
A Kobold surged forward and I swung wide and hard, my dagger taking the top half of his head off while another Goblin attempted to take me out at the legs like a linebacker; the heel of my boot crumpled his skull to reward his efforts. However, even with my awkward position, my left fist was more than capable of intercepting a charging Kobold, the dog-like monster's neck snapping as my knuckles impacted it.
It was then- with my knife far away, my other fist extended, and my heel planted in a Goblin's skull- that the War Shadow slipped into the fight once more. His three claws entered my body just beneath my belly button, and he curled them upward towards my heart.
I honestly don't remember how I was able to grasp his wrist so quickly, but my punching arm rechambered and caught him before he could flex up and end me; my small hand crumpled the limb, and my knife quickly reversed itself in my palm so that I could sink it into the monster's forehead.
Just before my steel parted his flesh, for a tenth of a second, I felt the War Shadow. We were connected, we were one. I could feel the anger, the hatred, the sheer boiling rage it felt at my mere existence. There was no intelligence, only cunning. There was no way unintelligent monsters and mortals could ever co-exist. It was kill or be killed.
It was one thing to know that, but it was another thing to know .
The War Shadow turned to dust upon its demise, but it left a parting gift within me. I could feel it, a single War Shadow Claw floating in the remains of my mangled intestines. The fucker.
That was when the pain hit.
My vision went white, but I somehow managed to remain standing as the sheer agony of simply doing so beggared belief. It took all of my willpower to drag my eyes away from the few coils of my small intestine that were attempting to escape my body and survey the battlefield; the four-man party that we had saved were back up and fighting off the last dozen or so of stragglers while Tsubaki strode up and cupped my head before lowering me to the floor.
I could barely breathe, and as much as I wanted to pass out the falna was there to keep the black from encroaching on my vision. I brought a hand away from my belly and intercepted the High Potion that the half-dwarf tried to bring to my lips. "-Ki. Ki. Ki. W-wuh, w-wuh-ait. Stahp. Stahp. Stahp. Its s-ss-sssstill in me. A-a-a-a Cuh-cuh-c-uhlaw."
The woman's lip curled into a snarl as her lone visible eye scrunched shut. "Hey, you Pass Paraders . I'm going to need some space. Keep them off of me."
H-hey n-now. Don't get mad at them, Tsubaki.
"Bite down." My Captain stuffed something leathery between my teeth and pulled out a dagger from… from somewhere. What was she going to do-
My eyes lost sight as she stuffed my small intestines back into my belly through the holes and then I felt even more pain as she dragged the knife along me to open up the wound enough to stick her fingers inside me. I don't know how long she rooted around in my guts for, but I never felt so relieved to see that War Shadow claw covered in my viscera clenched between her fingers like one would a playing card.
The High Potion was stuffed into my lips the very next second and the pain faded away quickly as my intestine mended. It was a strange feeling, the sheer itching that quickly healing wounds brings, but it was a welcome change. The only thing I didn't like about the whole process was the lone hole that remained in my stomach as the potion forced the intestinal fluid and blood out of my body and onto the Dungeon floor before the hole too finally sealed.
I was exhausted and more than a little chilly as somewhere between the time I informed Tsubaki of the War Shadow Claw stuck in my body and her drawing her dagger to make a larger incision the half-dwarf had torn my cuirass and chainmail off of my body like a Gym Bro would his t-shirt. Even with a stamina potion and some water, my Captain had to carry me out of the Dungeon on her back, and she enlisted the aid of the Adventurers we saved to carry all of my shit for me.
They walked with us from the Dungeon all of the way back to the Hephaestus Familia Forge District before she released them; upon handing my stuff over to my familia members, the Adventurers were insistent that we accompany them to their God and have him look me over.
That was when I first met Miach and realized that the cute cheinthrope girl whose visage kept tickling my mind was Naaza Erisuis.
Goddess, she was adorable!
After that little incident, Hephaestus had been adamant about forcing a Status Update on me, and I agreed wholeheartedly.
"I was going to ask for an update anyway, Hephaestus-sama." I bowed my head low; even after years of living in this world, using the honorifics made me feel utterly silly, "I finally reached a wall where my skills can no longer carry me any further. Maybe if I were older and had greater reach I could have come out of that engagement in better condition, but as I am now there will be no further advancement in the Dungeon without greater stats and better equipment."
The Goddess gazed at me critically with a neigh-unreadable expression on her face, but the crossed legs and arms were all I needed to see that even if I wanted to hold off, she would find some way to disabuse me of my bullheaded notions. Tsubaki was seated in a large bean bag-like chair with a similarly stern face, but the woman was more focused on concealing the trembling of her left hand. The same hand that she used to pull the War Shadow Claw out of me.
My Goddess let out a soft sigh and nodded her head. "Good, good. That is… good. I'm glad that you understand your limitations so well, Bell-kun."
It took me some time to finally wear her down and have her use my given name. Being called "Winters" by my own Goddess just felt so impersonal to me, I didn't like it at all.
I pulled off the plain linen shirt I had changed into after the bath that Miach and his nurse-assistants had given me and sat down in the Update Chair; the cool leather against my flesh made my skin pebble, which only heightened the sensations I felt when her firey-hot ichor dripped onto my back. The update took quite a while as the Goddess had to sift through five months of Excelia since my last update was when I learned the Soothing Touch healing spell well enough to have it added to a Spell Slot on my falna.
The woman let out a brief sigh as she placed the parchment against my back and transferred everything over. "Well, it appears that your methods have borne you fruit, Bell Winters."
Spoiler: Bell Winters - Level 1
Bell Winters
Level 1 - Level 2 (Eligible)
Strength: 535 D - 999 S
Endurance: 566 D - 999 S
Dexterity: 592 D - 999 S
Agility: 598 D - 999 S
Magic: 511 D - 956 S
I felt my heart soar, but it was quickly shot down when I turned my head over to my Goddess and saw her stern expression. I swallowed tightly. "One month, and then I'll Rank Up."
I worked my jaw, and thankfully she let me finish my thoughts on my bargain. "I'll only go into the 1st Floor for the Jack Bird and then return each week. I'll focus on my smithing projects and my magic. I'm very, very close to maxing it, Hephaestus-sama. I… I held myself back for a very long time, and I am not going to take this Rank Up now, not after I've come this far."
Her expression softened and she carded her ungloved hand through my hair, her calloused yet wonderfully soft fingers scrubbed over my scalp. "I wouldn't ask you to take the Rank Up, Bell Winters. You're finally at the finish line of your very first race- the end of a monumental project; I would never tell you to give up or turn it in before you finished polishing the blade."
She dropped down onto her knees, her face was so close to mine that I could smell the scent of hot coals and melted steel. Her ruby red eye softly gazed into my own. "I want to see you performing at your very best, my Child, and if you need a month to reach what you feel in your maximum potential, then I will give you that month as long as you don't break your promise to me."
At the end of my 17th month in Orario, I was now firmly 11 years old, and I had finally maxed my Magic stat after performing one hundred casts of Soothing Touch . Honestly, it was simply amazing how much easier it was to control my Mind as it flowed through the weaves of the spell with the additional 445 stat points in my Magic; I cut down the two and a half minutes to just under a minute and a half, and after my Rank Up?
I could cast Soothing Touch right at 40 seconds without my Whisperwood focus, and with it? 27 seconds.
Spoiler: Bell Winters - Level 2
Bell Winters (Cranel)
Level 1 - Level 2
Strength: 999 S - 0 I
Endurance: 999 S - 0 I
Dexterity: 999 S - 0 I
Agility: 999 S - 0 I
Magic: 956 S - 999 S - 0 I
Developmental Ability:
- Blacksmith: Gain improved blacksmithing skills with small increases to the durability of all crafted items. Gain the ability to forge weapons, armor, and items from Monster Drop Items. Gain the ability to imbue additional strength, durability, and other effects from Monster Drop Items into weapons, armor, and items.
Skills:
- "Lead the Way": Pathfinding, navigation, hunting, and tracking are much easier for you, and you gain a small bonus to Strength, Dexterity, and Agility when wielding ranged weaponry.
I had "Hunter", "Mage", "Blacksmith", "Abnormal Resist", and "Ranger" as options for my Developmental Abilities after my Rank Up, and while Mage was extremely tempting to pick, I could grab it as my Level 3 instead since the other known Level 3 options weren't nearly as enticing; besides, I believed that Mage was vital to learning the "Concurrent Chanting" skill, and I would really need that going forward. "Mystery" seemed like an excellent pick-up for Level 4 as it synergized well with Blacksmith.
"Ranger" was an interesting one, and I was certain that it stemmed from my time with the Beltor and Rimurad tribes. It was essentially my "Lead the Way" skill in the form of a Developmental Ability that could improve its bonuses over time; according to Hephaestus she had to ask around to try and find out what it did because she had never seen the Ability before- she ended up having to purchase a bottle of Soma for Loki to get her to ask her Children if they'd ever heard of it.
Riveria Ljos Alf was quite familiar with the "Ranger" ability because it was a very common pick for the Elvish Rangers that patrolled the borders of the various nations within her Empire.
That was pretty darn cool in my opinion, but it did sort of feel bad that my Unique Skill was just someone else's Developmental Ability. The fact that it was almost considered a mandatory pick due to its usefulness for an entire Empire's military softened the blow somewhat.
After having Tsubaki tell me about "Hunter" I threw that option right out the window. A Developmental Ability that gave you a preternatural perception of the movements and weaknesses of monsters you faced previously while helping you kill them more easily? That flew in the face of everything I was doing, and would end up gimping me; sure, for the average Jobber in the Dungeon it was a great, maybe even a life-saving choice, but for me?
That would ruin me as preserving the difficulty for as long as possible was what helped me grow far more quickly than everyone else. Sure, time-wise I was 5 years, and 5 months to Level 2… but how many people could say they went from E, F, D, D, I to all 999 S's across the board in 17 months?
No one… and no one would unless I told them; Hephaestus decided to honor my request and keep my training methods in-house. She even went through and began cutting back her monthly status update down to quarterly after my Rank Up; only during an emergency would she allow them to get a Status Update sooner. It would take some time for my (read: Zeus and Hera's) to show fruit, but this would only be a net positive for the familia as it would force the Dungeon Diving members of the familia to slow the fuck down and actually "Get Gud" instead of relying on their superior stats to carry them along.
To celebrate my Rank Up, my Goddess finally let me forge a few weapons for the first time so that I could imbue one of them with the War Shadow Claw that I earned with my new handy-dandy Blacksmith ability.
By a few, I mean a lot .
I spent the whole month of my "Vacay" from the Dungeon making blades, and the next month after that.
I was making three, sometimes four shortswords a day thanks to my improved parameters giving me greater strength with which to pound the steel into shape- cutting down on the number of re-heats I needed to do. The greater Endurance meant that the days of needing to rest every two hours with a salt-water-filled water skin surgically attached to my face were long gone. The additional Dexterity helped me put the blows where I needed them, and the Agility helped me strike with greater frequency.
I only made a single style of shortsword, and I made it over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over again until I was fucking sick of looking at it. Then I made it some more.
Spoiler: Shortsword/ 'Last Laugh'
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It was a simple blade, 27 inches in length, and it had a fairly shallow but wide fuller that ran along the center of the blade almost to the tip. The crossguard was fairly short, but it protected the hands like it was supposed to, and the grip was long enough for a hand-and-a-half hold that kept it short enough to not get in the way of one's wrist movements, but long enough that it could be gripped with both hands to deliver a little extra power to a strike.
I learned a lot from Hephaestus and my fellow smiths, like, for example, I thought that the fuller was just there to keep blood away from the handle so that one's grip wouldn't be fouled, but the fuller served an actual purpose. It added rigidity to the blade, keeping it nice and stiff while making the cuts or clashing with another blade- watching one of my fellow Apprentice's crowning achievement, a very beautiful greatsword, bend and stay bent after Hephaestus tried to cut through a pig carcass with it was eye-opening.
One of my shortswords cut almost all the way through when my Goddess handled it, but that was due to a variety of factors, including the fact that I made my swords almost twice as thick; it gave the short blade a little extra heft, but with an Adventurer's strength, the difference between a 4-pound shortsword and a 6.5-pound shortsword was negligible, but the extra thickness gave it much better rigidity and cutting power.
Tsubaki also showed off her Katana and gave me an impromptu lesson on why her blade had two fullers- apparently they whistled slightly when she struck out, and considering I'd been on the opposite side of that blade almost three days a week for 17 months, I knew exactly what she was talking about. If she could hear three whistles - one from each fuller and one from the back edge of the blade as it sliced through the air- then she knew that her grip and swing were perfectly aligned with the strike; Far Eastern styled blades and torsional forces did not go well together, so a proper cut is essential to using them.
I am not going to lie though, when I saw less and less of my shortswords being recycled and were instead going towards the Guild to sell to Adventurers… it was an amazing feeling.
My Goddess- Hephaestus, Goddess of the Forge - thought that my blades were fit to be not only sold but to be sold to the most underserved class of Adventurers in Orario. Sure, I didn't make a single valis off those blades because they were sold at cost, but being able to put my forge-mark onto those blades and hold my head up high whenever I saw Adventurers carrying them on their hips into the Dungeon was just…
Overwhelming.
I worked with Vornir to make an Adamantium stamp, roughly the size of a half-dollar, or a 100 Million Valis Mithril Coin, and I had a simple church bell with a Ranger-Tab styled rocker above it and below it; if you looked closely you would see the words "WINTERS" on the top rocker and "CRANEL" on the bottom.
That was my mark. That was me. That was my way of showing the world that I made this!
Vornir was kind enough to point out that since I had access to my Magic stat, I could include a small bit of Mind into the mark that would get transferred into the stamp upon impact- this would prove that whatever blade was held was a genuine article. Every magical signature was different, and after using it to stamp my first piece, I learned that my mana was Steel Grey with a border of almost a colorless Snow White.
I felt myself tear up looking at it, seeing the marking glow with my colors.
I was Jeremy Winters. I was Bell Cranel. I was Bell Winters.
Even if my experience, knowledge, and memories had somewhere overflowed, like a gallon of grey-dyed water being poured into a shot glass of white-dyed water, there was still some of that bright-eyed boy living within me.
It was a relief, truly.
"Alright, lad, place the War Shadow Claw in between the cuts we made and back away." Vornir grinned as he and Tsubaki held white-hot glowing bricks of High-Steel bar stock in tongs.
This was another part of the ceremony- the making of one's first personal weapon.
Every smith was in attendance, to at least see the first strikes; they would return later if they were able to see its unveiling.
Tsubaki placed her stock onto the anvil and I stepped forward, placing the War Shadow Claw directly in the center before backing away, and Vornir placed his material on top of both of them before he pulled his arm back and swung his Adamantium Hammer Hand down with a mighty roar. The square head impacted the two bricks perfectly, and with each successive blow the High-Steel began to flatten down; dark-grey scale and other impurities flaked off until the bar stock had been fully forged welded together.
It took him less than twenty seconds, and the pair released the clamps letting the freshly formed block of High-Steel sit on the anvil. The wide, muscular Dwarf let out a pleased huff as he used the edge of his Adamantium Hammer Hand to spin the block in place and inspected his welds. "That should do it, laddie. This is a momentous occasion for you, my boy. Just follow Tsubaki-chan's instructions and make it as you would those other shortswords of yours… and you'll do just fine."
There were three ways that the Blacksmith ability could be used:
The first way was what we were doing currently, was called Insert Forging, which was the alloying of a Drop Item into the base material. This would impart the desirable attributes of the item onto the material in a way that was durable- integral- to the equipment created.
The second way was to actually use the Drop Item itself to fashion a weapon, and this was called Draw Forging. Welf Crozzo demonstrated this when he used the interior of the Minotaur Horn that Bell Cranel had killed and the marrow was forged to create Ushiwakamaru and that Ushiwakamaru- something knife.
The third way was what I could only describe as Magical Electrolysis, called Imbuing. The item to be embued was placed in a Mithril tank filled with distilled water, clamps were attached to the piece of equipment to be imbued and to the Drop Item, with Mithril ribbons connecting to a box that contained a monster core; typically a Minotaur core was used as the power source because it was obtained in enough frequency for a disposable battery.
It was by far the least effective method, but it had the lowest cost associated with Drop Item equipment, and you could essential enchant the equipment you already had to be more effective in the Dungeon. For those looking to save every valis but still remain relevant in the dangerous line of work we lived in, then this was the way to go.
My High-Steel Shadow Claw shortsword would cost about 75,000 valis on the open market, but purchasing one of my shortswords from the Guild would run about 14,000, a War Shadow Claw would cost 15,000 if purchased from the Guild, and the imbuing process would cost another 20,000 for a grand total of 49,000 valis. While it wouldn't be as strong, maintain its edge as long, and wouldn't be as lubricious as the Insert Forged blade, but when every valis mattered it was a solid move that most Adventurers who traveled past the 7th Floor saved up for when they could.
Those that couldn't make it past the 7th Floor, however, saw it as a waste of money- they could purchase almost 10 brand new longswords from the Guild that amount.
The forging world of Orario truly was a "Buy Once, Cry Once… until you Ranked Up or got to a Lower Floor" sort of place. It came down to how much you valued your life, and whether you were willing to forgo some weekly visits to the Red Light district or nightly visits to the pub to purchase better equipment.
The alloying process was pretty drawn out, as I had to fold and draw the material out a dozen times before pounding it out into a sheet that could be folded like a napkin and then reformed into a single contiguous piece of bar stock. While this was ongoing, Tsubaki stopped me multiple times throughout the forging process to have me use a Mithril rod to push Mind into the material- this was what activated my Blacksmith ability and allowed it to work; if all one needed to do was to stuff materials in and fold it, then anyone could do it. No, the Blacksmith ability helped the material break down and spread throughout the stock.
It really drove home just how inefficient Steel was at conducting Mind, as it required almost a tenth of my total Mind to finish the process; Tsubaki chuckled and told me that most smiths doing this for the first time have to chug Mind Potions to maintain their pacing, but since I was practically a Mage without the Developmental Ability, I was a lot faster and more efficient with my forging.
The blade was forged- the bevels and fuller hammered into place, the rough patches ground down, the bevel and edge ground out, and then the final sharpening was put onto the shortsword. I could hold a piece of parchment over the edge and drop it, the sword parting the paper like it wasn't even there. I nearly had a heart attack when Tsubaki ran her palm over the edge, but the slight screeching of metal on metal allayed my fears when she pulled her hand back and showed off what were essentially papercuts on her palm and the pads of her fingers that contacted the edge.
"Wow, Bell-kichi, well done! If you tried to stab me with this, then you just might be able to nick me with it!" The half-dwarf's smile was gorgeous, and I felt my cheeks burn as she picked up the whetstone and ran it over the entire blade again.
The crossguard was put on, the handle secured and wrapped with leather, and the High-Steel octagonal pommel hammered and then pinned into place. The final step was the acid etching of the blade, and after a quick dunk before it was dipped into a tube of water, we finally got to see the beautiful patterns emerge along the entirety of the blade; the bright, clean silvers of the High-Steel were swirled with inky black in some portions while it was sandwiched in others. The effect it had when it caught the light was mesmerizing, and only Tsubaki using my cranium as an elbow rest knocked me out of my musings.
I blinked and looked up at her. "One day soon I will be taller than you, Tsubaki, and when that day comes… then it will be your head that becomes the elbow rest."
The busty smith just smirked and pushed off my noggin so that she could grab me by my collar and drag me over to the polishing station. After a quick and dirty polish, she dragged me over to the presentation podium and placed the sword onto the red velvet cushion, and then draped over it a royal purple cloth.
"Just as a head's up, Bell-kichi, you should probably use this time to think of a name if you haven't already. Every smith's first blade should have a name, yanno? Just make it a good one, or else we'll never let you live it down."
"Oh? This coming from the very same Tsubaki Collebrand who named her first sword 'Heaven-Piercing-Dragon-God' ?"My lips quirked, feeling damn good at finally having a legitimate opportunity to fire back against her for the first time in 17 months. "Bonus points for naming it in Far Easter too. Very cool and totally not funny at all."
Tsubaki pouted before flicking my ear with a muttered, "Wise ass."
She picked up a piece of bar stock and hurled it at a gong hanging from the wall, and within ten minutes every smith that wasn't busy had gathered back into the forge. Hephaestus had yet to arrive so everyone waited. Then we waited some more.
About thirty minutes later Hephaestus arrived, with two guests in tow- the Goddess Loki and one Aiz Wallenstein.
I was sort of surprised to see them considering it had been almost five months since we last met, and Loki's expression looked like she had just been handed a mug of sour milk. "Oi, Hephaestus. I thought we were going to see this up-and-coming new smith of yours, not the totally uncute chibi who dared to make fun of my Aiz-tan!"
Woman, I am very cute! Have you seen these cheeks!? Sure, everything else about me wouldn't look out of place on a bodybuilder, but with the loose clothes, I favored when not in the Dungeon most people didn't even notice all of my muscle!
Aiz blinked, her voice quiet. "A rabbit."
I inhaled but did my best to let it escape as inaudibly as I could, but the other smiths were more than happy to supply the laugh track for this comedic interaction.
However, this was an opportunity- no doubt a spur of the moment thing for my Goddess because she did know that I felt bad about speaking ill of Aiz Wallenstein- to apologize. "Aiz Wallenstein, Level 3 of the Loki familia-"
Loki crossed her arms over her non-existent chest and pulled her shoulders back. "She's a Level 4 now, just did her Rank Up this morning."
I gave her a plastic smile as I continued - "- Level 4 of the Loki familia, alias Sword Princess. Five months ago I observed you for the first time while you were with a party heading into the Tower of Babel, and I made some comments to one of my companions that I thought that your Dungeon attire was indeed fashionable-"
"Huuhuuhuu- my Aiz-tan is super cute!"
"- I thought that it was wholly impractical for the Dungeon-"
"Whhhaaaattt????"
I bowed at the waist deeply before righting myself. "I didn't know at the time it was considered taboo to comment on another Adventurer's equipment, especially one who was well-known and famous. So for that, you have my apologies."
"Why you shrimpy little bast-"
"What… about it is impractical?" The young head tilted in such a fashion that it made me want to pat her on the head and give her a cookie.
"Do you want my admittedly meager advice? I've only just reached Level 2 today." I arched an eyebrow.
She blinked and didn't speak for a few moments. Then she opened her mouth. "Yes. You are… young, like me, but you are a smith, and Riveria-onee-chan said I should always listen to my smith's advice."
"Woah, woah, woah. Aiz-tan. Don't say things like that. He is
a
smith, not
your
smith-"
With permission like that, I launched into a ten-minute diatribe on the utter impracticality of her equipment. From her thigh-high stockings ( on a 10-year-old girl), to her heeled platform boots that offered zero ankle support, to the skirt with exactly 2.5 inches of Absolute Territory - ("No! Not her Absolute Territory ! Don't take that away from me~!!!") - to the half-a-boob chest plate, and the utterly ridiculous half-sabaton hanging off of her hip that only covered the outside of one, single, thigh.
I made sure to keep my explanation as simple as possible for her, however, I had to keep my critique short because while half of my audience was nodding along, the other half was staring out into space; I felt for them- what should have been a 5 minute revealed turned into a 40-minute long wait and now a ten-minute long lecture on armor.
"-so the headpiece doesn't serve any purpose other than to make you look cute. It does not protect your head or your eyes. I would recommend purchasing a helmet that would actually protect you in dangerous engagements- you can simply put it in your pack when you do not need it."
Aiz looked at me blankly before nodding. "Yes. I… understand. Will you make armor for me, then?"
I gave her a soft smile but shook my head. "I would love to be your personal smith, Aiz, but unfortunately I have only just learned the finer points of making only a single style of sword. It would take me many years to yet to learn how to fashion armor that would suit your fighting style and your magic, after all, just like Dungeon diving, blacksmithing is a journey of a thousand steps. We can only walk at our own pace."
Hephaestus smiled broadly as she took that opportunity to segue to what we were all there for - the Reveal. "Yes, you've only learned to fashion a single style of blade, but I think that if you can apply the same level of dedication and determination to every item you smith, then maybe you'll be at the Level needed to fashion young Aiz-chan her equipment."
I smiled back and took my place at the podium and gave a small speech, thanking everyone involved who helped me create the blade, Tsubaki and Vornir in particular. "- and as for the blade's name, I think I have one that fits it just fine; the War Shadow was wrist-deep in my belly, but I managed to grasp his wrist and break it before stabbing him in the face. Tsubaki-sama may have had to fish his claw out of my guts, but unlike him, I am alive, and he isn't. I turned his body into my blade, and so I guess you can say that I got-"
I pulled the cloth from the podium and revealed its shape to the world, the sunlight streaming from the windows hitting the blade just right to show off its dazzling patterns; the High-Steel of the crossguard and pommel glinting. "- the Last Laugh ."
"Shit, that's a pretty good one," Loki grumbled as she stuffed her hands into her non-existent pockets.
There were more than a few eyebrows raised, and I couldn't keep the grin from my face as Hephaestus grasped the hilt and held it up, and began looking it over with a critical eye, barely audible whispers leaving her lips. "Balance is good, a little heavy towards the rear- easier manipulation with a single hand. The blade is true, although heavier than standard. Fuller is clean, very few blemishes-"
She gave it a few swings before she smiled at me and popped the blade up and grasped it in her hand before she presented 'Last Laugh' to Aiz Wallenstein; the girl grasped the handle and Hephaestus backed away. In fact, everyone backed away to make space, someone grasping one of the nearby workbenches and dragged it along with them to create a pocket roughly fifteen paces in diameter.
The Sword Princess felt around the grip before she found a spot where she liked it best and went through a number of slow swings and various stances, moving from one-handed strikes to two-handed blows; with each strike, she got faster and faster until the air dragged along by her swings were enough to blow my hair back. On the last swing, a horizontal two-handed chop that rattled the tools hanging on the wall on the other side of the forge, the girl looked down and held the weapon with two hands before she walked over and presented it back to me. "It is good."
I smiled and accepted the blade back, noting that the steel was now warm to the touch with all of the friction that her strikes had generated. "Thank you for your kind words, Aiz Wallenstein. My name is Bell Winters, it is nice to meet you."
The girl's cheeks speckled pink and she nodded. "Yes. You as well."
After that she turned on her heel and walked over to Loki who wrapped her up in a big hug, her fingers coming up to her eyes in the tried and true 'I'm watching you' gesture. I gave her my bestest, most winningest smile. Her frown turned into an angry scowl and she marched the young girl off all the while loudly proclaiming that I was 'a lousy smith who her precious Aiz-tan would never patronize in the future!'
There were chuckles all around, and the other smiths each filed through to get their turn messing around with the blade- one asshole used it to cut through a Low-Steel chain when I wasn't looking- but upon seeing that the sword was fine I felt my anger abate. When the others had returned to their work the sun was just starting to set, and only Hephaestus, Vornir, and Tsubaki remained.
"S'a shit blade, laddie." The old dwarf rumbled with a chuckle as he handed it over to me, with his hand free he patted me on the top of my head, "I guess you'll just have to make the next one even better then, right?"
I smiled back and nodded as best I could with his meaty paw encapsulating my noggin.
"Good, good," He pat me a few more times before walking back towards his personal forge, the one-handed smith speaking out at me from over his shoulder as he left. "Keep your eyes on the horizon, my boy, the day you die is the day you stop moving forward!"
I couldn't help the chuckle that escaped my lips. "Wise words, old man."
An electric thrill slip up my spine as I felt Hephaestus' gloved hand slide up my neck before carding through the hair on the top of my head. "Denatus is next week. I'll try to get you a good alias."
I snorted, "I think I'll get what they give me. I swear, listening to the alias people have, makes me wonder if they're all just making fun of us in some underhanded way."
Her fingers stopped and she smiled thinly. "Who knows? Now, why don't you go visit Hammgard and the tanners over in Warehouse 7 and get a sheath for that blade made, hmm?"
I took the opportunity to wrap my arms around her hips and bury my face into her belly. I was feeling a little bit emotional, okay? "Thank you, for accepting me, Hephaestus-sama."
After a few seconds of hugging, I released her and smartly walked away from the chortling of the half-dwarf. I didn't need to give Tsubaki any more ammunition on me than she already had.
[Hephestus - Goddess of the Forge]
On the very top floor of the Tower of Babel, the 100th Floor, with a wide-open floor plan and windows that stretched from floor to ceiling, this was where the Denatus was held. Large marble pillars of Alabaster with gold veins running over the surface lined the circumference of the room, and in the middle of it sat four long tables of the same marble as the pillars with hundreds of chairs. At the head of all of them was a 'C' shaped table with five seats where the Divines of the Top Five familias sat.
Loki was grumbling the whole time. "Hephaestus, my Aiz-tan won't stop asking about your shrimp. How are you going to compensate me, huh? I can't get my daily dose of Aizutanium without her poking me about getting her better armor!"
The Goddess of the Forge felt her lips quirk up as she sipped at her wine glass. "I'm afraid I don't know why you're asking me about this, Loki, this sounds like a personal problem; maybe you wouldn't be getting the 3rd-Degree from her if you just outfitted her properly in the first place?"
"Feh, you're just trying to reach into my pockets again," The Goddess crossed her arms, "What, was my Finn-kun's Spear Gaelia not enough for you? You want to take another 120,000,000 Million valis out of my purse?"
"-and now that the usual business has been completed. The floor is now open for comment; after that, we'll move on to everyone's favorite event." Freya's smile widened as the cheers ripped out of the crowd at her words, "Are there any takers? Complaints? Grievances?"
Much to everyone's surprise, there was one Divine who stood up. The man had shaggy, unkempt black hair that hung to his shoulders, a scruffy, thin beard, and his clothing was all black except for a dark grey scarf that was wrapped around his neck twice and then his hands.
Ah, so it seems that Soma was finally bowing to the pressure. Or, more likely, he was finally forced to leave his wine distillery. He sounded very tired. "Yes. I am Soma, and I would like for Hephaestus to please withdraw her embargo against my familia."
There were a number of whispers in the crowd of curious Gods, but Soma held up his hand to silence them, a sigh escaping his lips. "My Children cannot purchase anything in this city now except for food. They cannot purchase weapons or armor, nor can they buy me the tools I need to make my wine."
If Soma cared about politics, that would have sounded like a master-stroke, but the man truly cared about nothing except for his wine. There wasn't a God of Goddess in the city that didn't enjoy Soma's wine, and it was a very hot commodity; whenever it hit the shelves it was snatched up without fail, often at exorbitant prices. If building up a coalition to force Hephaestus to capitulate was his goal, then it would be the first step in ending the embargo.
After hearing about her Bell-kun's experience with the Soma familia Adventurer in the Dungeon, the Goddess had been rather… cross was an understatement. It took the Goddess of the Forge physically laying her hands on Tsubaki to prevent her from roaming down to the Soma familia and slaughtering them down to the last man; she had practice doing so with the Evilus fiasco- while Finn Deimne took credit for ending the threat, it was Freya's familia that took the lead. There were over a dozen familias that had been associated with the villainous organization, and having lost her entire party to their machinations she had no trouble turning her blade against them.
Hephaestus and Tsubaki used the month-long ban for Bell in the Dungeon to do a little bit of investigative work- mainly asking the Guild, and it was clear to see that the Soma familia had taken a turn for the worst after the unfortunate death of their last Familia Captain in the Dungeon; the freshly raised Level 2 Zanis Lustra, alias Gandharva, seemingly taking the wine-making familia in a new direction.
When she confronted Soma with Tsubaki at her side with the dozens upon dozens of formal complaints about the familia for things ranging from theft, rape, loot theft, murder, Intentional Monster Partying (which is just as bad as murder), extortion, blackmail, coercion, among many, many others… the God was displeased but ultimately unsympathetic. He told Zanis to investigate these allegations.
Well, while Zanis Lustra 'investigated', Hephaestus put out the word to everyone even remotely affiliated with her: "The Soma Familia Shall Do NO BUSINESS HERE".
Accompanying the notice was the list of their reported crimes, along with a note that any business caught selling to the Soma familia would be removed from her network. While someone might point out that the embargo only worked with those that sold Hephaestus familia products, she wrangled Goibnu and Kagu-tsuchi into joining her as well- that accounted for over 90% of the smithing and forging capacity of the city, and the threat of blacklisting was more than enough to close all doors to anyone affiliated with Soma.
Soma might make wine that the Divines and the wealthy enjoyed, but the smiths made your weapons, armor, knives, forks, spoons, door handles, locks, nails, roofing tacks, horseshoes, hinges, pots, pans, bowls, needles, and pins. The smiths of Orario made the city function, and when Soma can't purchase the copper tubing, funnels, bronze and copper vats, stills, and butter knives… well, that got Soma up off of his bottom.
The Dungeon was dangerous enough without his unruly Children making things even more dangerous.
"We will continue the embargo until the situation improves, Soma-san." Hephaestus' words were firm.
"How am I supposed to fix this?" The God mumbled as his fingers splayed across the gold-flecked white marble table.
"By doing what every other God in this city would do- questioning your Children individually and then removing the troublemakers; preferably by removing their falna and then handing them over to the Ganesha familia and the City Guard." The Goddess of the Forge leaned forward with her hands folded in her lap. "Did you lose your ability to sense Truth from Lie when we weren't looking?"
He blinked. "That sounds like a hassle."
Loki's chuckle brought the room's attention onto her, the Goddess of Mischief's smile was as wide as it was unsettling.
Hephaestus rolled her eyes; what little scheme was she cooking up now?
"It really is a hassle! You've got over a hundred members, right? That would take you forever to get through them all!" Loki leaned back in her chair while covering her eyes theatrically, "The kiddies can get especially tricky with their words too- if you let them, they'll just talk around your questions entirely!"
The God of Wine's head bobbed up and down as Loki spoke, his lips moving. "Yes, I have noticed that Zanis can be… evasive at times."
"Oh, if only there was someone who could help you out, Soma-kun! Someone who was just so brilliant - and beautiful - and intelligent that they could solve allllll~ of your problems in a single swoop!" Loki's fingers parted as she watched the God look around the room.
There were shaking heads as multiple variations of 'Hell no bro, you un-fuck your own problems' went around. Finding no support elsewhere, eventually, his eyes moved back to Loki. "You'll help me?"
"Fufufufu." The Goddess of Trickery stood up, "Well, if no one else will help you, Soma-kun, I will! Just come see me after and we'll talk business, okay? However, since no one else stepped up, I just want to make sure that there will be no complaints in the future, alright everyone!?"
"Have at it, Loki!"
"You go, Loki-noboobs! Get us our wine back!"
"Work hard! The stocks I've got in my cellar are only going to last so long!"
"Go! Go! Loki-chan! Do! Your! Best!"
Hephaestus felt a small smile tug at her lips as Demeter, ever the air-head, gave Loki some genuine praise.
Freya's hands clapping brought the focus back onto her. "Excellent, I am quite a fan of Soma-kun's work, so I look forward to seeing him return to work soon enough. Now, since that bit of business is finished, is there anyone else?"
"""""NO!"""""
The Goddess of Love and Beauty smiled beatifically. "Excellent, now it is-"
""""""ALIAS TIME!"""""
Carts laden with hundreds of thick packets were wheeled into the room by Guild attendants before they exited, leaving the Divines closest to the ends of the tables to grab stacks and spread them around. Hephaestus, being the lowest ranking member of the 5 Pillar familias, stood up and walked over to grab five packets and brought them back to the Head Table and distributed them to Freya, Loki, Skadi, Inari, and then one for herself.
Freya looked through her packet and cleared her throat. "First on the list today, we have a new member to the Denatus, Anubis-kun, and he gained entrance to our hallowed halls thanks to his Amazonian Child Selka-"
" Brown Tornado!"
" V-String!"
" Clapper! I mean, look at that ass! No doubt they clap when she walks!"
"Come on, doofus, forget her ass, look at dem titties tho! I vote for ' Chocolate Ocean', because you could swim in those breasts for days and not need to come up for air!"
Hephaestus gave the cheinthrope aligned God a sad smile as the man looked around in utter shock, his thin ears flickering each way as he looked around for someone, anyone , to save him and his Child.
Sorry, Anubis, but she was saving her Capital for Bell-kun.
Welcome to Denatus.
"- Sammi Rawlins shall henceforth be known as 'Sun Chaser'."
"Kiss Apollo's ass some more why don't you!"
"- Demeter's Child, Karen Wilmer, shall now be known by her alias 'Buttercup'."
"Hee-hee. The milkers on that girl."
Demeter, for her part, smiled and clapped excitedly. "Oh, she loves buttercup! It's her favorite flower, oh, I'm sure she'll be so pleased!"
"Next up on the docket, is for our dear Hephaestus-chan. Her Child, Bell Cranel, has finally ranked up after 17 months!" The Goddess of Love turned her attention to Hephaestus, "I've heard that he is quite the hard worker, and is shaping up to be an excellent young Apprentice for you."
The Goddess of the Forge smiled placidly even as she felt a sense of trepidation dig deep into the pit of her belly; she knew the den of vipers that Denatus brought in every quarter.
Bell had done well in choosing an artist to draw his portrait- the boy had worn the best possible clothes he could; a crisp white shirt along with a fancy tanned leather coat. His hair had been cut close and his expression was neutral; he tried to appear older than he was, but he couldn't quite pull it off.
The only other thing of note was the four deer horn totems that he had hanging from his neck on a leather necklace; he made sure that the artist drew them in detail- they were important gifts from the tribes he hunted with, and he wanted their hard work to be shown to all who would see his portrait.
The Forge Goddess straightened herself up. "Actually, he qualified for a Rank Up the day he arrived back at my forge; I'd sent him to live with his Grandfather out in the countryside after a… parental dust-up."
Most of the Divines in attendance winced in sympathy; custody battles were back enough as it was with regular mortals, but those within familias tended to be particularly vicious. "During his time there he became quite an accomplished hunter, and he slew a surface Hobgoblin with an arrow- straight through the eye at 75 paces while it was charging."
Hephaestus leaned over and looked at the crowd. She needed to play him up properly so that they would be focused on back-handed but at least aggrandizing names. She didn't think she had the Capital she once had after Soma's protest. "Instead of taking the Rank Up, he decided to hone himself even further, and dare I say that he has put for excellent effort for any Adventurer, let alone a young boy."
Skadi hummed, the werewolf aligned Goddess' ears flickering. "Achieving a Rank Up outside of Orario from hunting alone is quite the feat; the number of worthy challenges not in the Dungeon are few and far in between."
"He's still nothing when compared to my Aiz-tan! She's a Level 4 now, yanno?!" Loki caterwauled from her chair, and the Divines began deliberating.
"So… he's small?"
"Yup, he's small all right."
"His muscle mass pleases me greatly. You can tell how much he lifts with how tight the shirt is."
"Shut up, dude bro, we're not here to compliment the kid! Get with the program!"
"He looks like a rabbit! Like I just took him out of one of my cages! So cute!"
"Yes, Demeter, he does look like a rabbit. We get it."
"Yeah, we could do better. Hephaestus, tell us more about the kid so that we can give him something really appropriate. This profile is a little thin."
"Everything you need to know is right there in the portrait." Hephaestus tilted her head and looked down the rows of Divines seated and the Goddess of the Forge looked over at the woman who spoke. She was Lupo, one of the three werewolf-related Divines in the city, and the woman looked rather pleased.
"What about it?" One of the male Gods scoffed and Hephaestus watched Skadi lift the sheet closer to her face before she placed it down onto the table with a small huff.
"He has four betrothed, at such a young age." The grey-haired werewolf Goddess chuckled, her fingers coming up to run around the smile on her lips. "Those totems are used in the Beltor, Rimurad, and Hokusini tribes in the plains to the northwest. Damn fine hunters, those Children- more than a few of mine and Lupo's number come from there."
Lupo leaned forward and looked down the table, her silvery-white ears perked sideways she gave Hephaestus a fanged smirk. "Your boy must be quite the accomplished hunter to garner such attentions; the girls there don't give such things out easily."
Disbelief swept through the room.
"Wait, you're saying this kid already has four wives?"
"They're betrothal totems you fool, he has not been wedded yet," Skadi growled as she smacked her hand onto the table.
"Still! His balls haven't even dropped yet!"
"Yeah! He can't possibly enjoy those far-striding huntress beauties properly! Hephaestus! Give your Child to me and I'll show him how to properly take care of his wom-"
Hepahestus' fist smacked the table as some of her Divinity leaked out of her mortal shell- hellfire blazed in her lone crimson eye.
"So, accomplished hunter, Level 2, cute, and apparently has four soon-to-be-wives."
"The kid seems to be winning on every metric and his balls ain't even dropped yet… how are we supposed to make fun of him?"
"Public Enemy?"
"""""Public Enemy."""""
Loki chortled as Freya shook her head, which dragged everyone's attention to the Goddess of Trickery.
"Is our pain funny to you, Loki?"
"Yeah, is our suffering at the hands of this bishounen-shounen amusing?"
"Aaaahhhhnnnnn~? You want some of this, Loki-noboobs?"
Said Goddess snapped her head, "What? When did I get dragged into this?"
Apollo, the fop, stood up. "My friends, it appears that our dear Loki has forgotten the power that we hold here, and I think it is time that we remind her."
"""""Here, here!"""""
The God of the Sun ran a hand through his hair as he smirked devilishly. "Now, I try not to listen in on conversations at the Head Table, as that is quite uncouth, but I couldn't help but overhear that your little Sword Princess was quite interested in little Cranel-kun, yes?"
No.
"No." Loki's words echoed Hephaestus' thoughts.
"Since the boy appears to be another prodigy, then why don't we pair them up, hmmm? How about… a 'Smithing Prince' to go with our beloved 'Sword Princess'?"
The applause was thunderous.
Even if the male Gods despised the thought of there being anyone to stand beside the tiny Aiz Wallenstein, the opportunity to lash out against both Loki and Hephaestus in a single strike without reprisal was far too good for them to pass up.
Loki poked fun at them constantly and was always as obnoxious as possible when it came time for her Children's Rank Ups to be announced, meanwhile, Hephaestus had been revealed to be the reason for the shortage of Soma wine and the current astronomical prices that they were forced to pay thanks to her city-wide embargo.
Two birds high up on the tree that was outside of their reach were now able to be brought low by a single stone.
"I'm so sorry, Bell-kun." The Goddess of the Forge whispered to herself as Freya announced the official tally.
[One Week Later]
[Liliruca Arde]
Lili couldn't do anything other than sit beside her Supporter Pack outside of the brick and mortar wall of the Soma compound.
She was in complete disbelief.
Liliruca Arde was free from the Soma familia. Free from Soma wine. Free from Soma.
She was free .
However, much like the dog that chased the wheels of a wagon cart, now that she had finally caught it, what did she do with it? For years she dreamed of this day, and now that it was finally here she was beside herself; happiness, shock, joy, trepidation, fear-
She blinked as the bright light of the sun was obscured by a shadow, and when she looked up the softly smiling visage of a boy with white hair and red eyes was revealed. "Hello there. I've been searching for you, Liliruca Arde."
The Pallum girl flinched when his arm reached out- was he someone she'd stolen from in the past? No, impossible. She'd remember someone as eye-catching as this boy-
A warm hand grasped her own and she gasped as she was pulled to her feet, his other hand coming around and wiping the dirt off of her pants. "W-what do you want with Lili, Adventurer-sama?"
His soft smile firmed up a little bit. "None of that, I know who you are, Lili. I know what you've done."
She swallowed and tried to pull away from him, to grab her pack and run away, but he was strong; her hand didn't budge in his grip.
"Slow down," He murmured softly, the boy pulling her into a hug. "I know that you've stolen, but given your situation in that piss-pot hellhole , do you really think I'd blame you for stealing to survive? From skimming a little off the top from piece of shit Adventurers who were underpaying you anyways?"
The Pallum's rigid form relaxed, if only slightly.
"What if I offered you a place in my familia? You'd have to learn how to smith, but it isn't that difficult- you can grow strong there, strong enough to fight for yourself, make your own equipment, and live your life how you choose to live it." He grinned slightly, "Wouldn't that be grand?"
"It sounds too good to be true." She mumbled sullenly, just waiting for the carpet to be yanked out from underneath her feet.
"Well, it's not too good to be true, it's just highly improbable," The boy released her and placed his hands on his hips, "But, if you're willing to take a leap of faith, maybe you'll find that there are people if this world who be willing to catch you."
"So, what do you say, Liliruca Arde, formerly of the Soma familia? Do you want to sit back down on the sidewalk or do you want to jump into a hot bath with a roof over your head?" The boy stretched out his hand, "Besides, I'm at least partially responsible for the Soma familia's dissolution- never thought that Loki would convince him to zero out his familia and move into her basement. Heh, certainly solves both of their problems neatly; she gets wine whenever she wants, and he gets funding for his wine research without having to futz around with a familia."
His red eyes tracked up to the large red-brick mansion of the former Soma familia, "Probably going to save a ton of money not having to pay property taxes too."
Liliruca Arde's head felt fuzzy, but it didn't stop her from picking up her Supporter pack and grabbing onto the boy's outstretched hand.
Worst came to worst, she didn't think the Hephaestus familia would force her to stay, and this boy… his hand felt warm, and that was the best she'd had in a long, long time.
The tears that spilled down her cheeks as they walked through the city streets of Orario towards the Hephaestus Smithing District went unnoticed, or if he did notice he didn't comment on them; at least he knew not to draw attention to such things!
[Canon Omake - Upon the Slaying of the War Shadow that almost killed BellSI]
Tsubaki had just finished having a long heart-to-heart with Hephaestus-sama; the events of today were far too close for comfort.
The events of back then and the events of today were not the same.
While her companions had been killed by one of Evilus' ambushes, Bell-kichi had almost been killed fighting a War Shadow while she had been busy attending to the injured member of Miach-sama's familia; the human teen had received a terrible wound along her back that almost hit her spine. Had they not run into Bell and herself, with the size of that Monster Party they would have surely died.
The warmth of the bath and the feeling of silk against her flesh did little to keep her mind from wandering, all of the paths leading to the same place- a place she really didn't want to return to.
The scent of blood hung heavy in the air, and her breathing was ragged as she cradled her last surviving party member to her chest. "Baki. B-baki. I'm not g-ggg-going to m-mmmmake it."
Their potions had run out long ago, and Harim, Gella, and Rudolf had given their lives to buy them time to escape. The Sacrifice Play was the only play they had left; if they stayed, then they all would have died. There was no way around it.
"Come on, that's quitter talk." Tsubaki heaved out as her legs carried her as fast as they could go, she was a Level 3, she had Endurance for days. She could run all the way to Rivira without stopping, so why was she so damn tired!
"W-we both know that there is only one w-wwway this e-ends." The black-haired Pallum man chuckled painfully, "'less we run into another par-tttty, there ain't nothing for me."
Blood-soaked teeth grinned up at her ruefully, "T-ttaught you everything I know 'bout the Dungeon a-a-an smithing, Baki-chan. H-heh, knew that this was always h-h-how I w-was going to go out."
Tsubaki didn't speak as she mantled over the large, high roots of the 22nd Floor, her feet barely finding purchase in the damp dirt of the Large Tree Labyrinth.
"C-cccould really u-u-use the forge right a-aaabout now." Thomas, her senpai in both smithing and Adventuring, shifted in her arms with a wince, his lips peeling back with each shiver that wracked his frame. "S' getting p-p-pre-t-t-ty cold…"
A tiny knock on the door knocked Tsubaki out of her reverie, and she shifted in her bed before slipping out and walking over to the door; the half-dwarf made one last check to make sure she was indeed clothed before she opened up the door to find Bell-kichi with a cloth-wrapped bundle under his arm. He swallowed as he took in her nightgown-clad form.
"I… was having trouble sleeping." He spoke lowly before he turned his head away towards the floor, "I really need to put up curtains in my room; the trees swaying outside cast shadows in my room."
Tsubaki let go of her trembling hand and pulled the young boy into her room and closed the door behind her, a small smile pulling at her lips. The boy protested, making sure to tell her that this was a temporary thing, and not to get any ideas; the lights were playing tricks on his mind, 'keeping him alert'. He couldn't rest properly if his 'hind brain' thought that there was a War Shadow in the corner.
The half-dwarf Captain of the Hephaestus familia kept her smiles hidden at all times until the boy had wrapped himself up in his blanket and put his head on the pillow he'd brought with him. That was when Tsubaki wrapped her own blanket over the top of him and pulled his little burrito tight to her chest, the woman ruffling his hair to the wonderful tune of half-hearted grumbles.
The warmth was nice, and his form fit well in her arms. She focused on gently scraping her nails against his scalp until his breathing evened out, and then she buried her face into the back of his head.
When she fell asleep herself, she found that her dreams were not as horrible as they could have been, and for Tsubaki Collebrand, that was just fine.
A/N: Yes, I'm aware that the sword doesn't have a fuller, but it was the only picture I really liked. So just reduce the grind on the sword edge and slap a fuller in the center of the blade and call it good.
Also, this would have been out way, way sooner - like eight hours ago- but I had made the mistake of trying my hand at writing while doing a DnD campaign with some friends. It did not go well. Almost 4k words and I had to scrap it all because somewhere along the line my fingers started writing out the words my friends were saying and it turned out to be a mess.
There was some good content there, but it was a complete wreck, so I had to re-write it all. lol
Chapter 4 - Walls Are Hard to Climb Without Help
[Bell Winters]
After my Rank Up, I realized just how much stronger I was than before. I played around with measuring myself by administering a simple test: number of push-ups, sit-ups, and a run around the city. It was the best way I could think of to get a quick, down, and dirty representation of my growth.
I counted out the number of push-ups and sit-ups I could pump out in a five-minute period, and then moved on to see how quickly I could run a single lap around the circumference of the city's wall. After my Rank Up I did it again, and while it wasn't a direct six-fold increase like Granpa said it was, it was pretty darn close! I believe that there are some severe inefficiencies in the body mechanics of the exercises used- particularly in the push-ups and the sit-ups; I was rechambering so damn fast that I couldn't stay on the ground, which meant that my numbers were a fair bit lower than they would have been if I had Spider-Man's ability to stick to things.
Where the real differences came into being was when I returned to the 5th Floor again with the recommended Mid-Steel and treated-Leather equipment instead of the Low-Steel and untreated-Leather I had been using previously. My first Goblin came at me, and it was… just so slow. Six times slower. My control over my body was also six times better as well- I put Last Laugh into the monster's left nostril with millimeter precision; everything aligned perfectly. My Strength and Dexterity allowed me to position my body perfectly, my Agility allowed me to move my body into position quickly enough to take that position, and the enhanced Agility and Dexterity combined slowed my perception of time to the point where I could put the blade exactly where I wanted it, when I wanted it.
I felt like the Master Chief after he'd just completed his augmentation surgeries and dropped a dumbbell weight onto the floor; his eyes were telling him it was dropping five times slower than it should have been, but his internal clock and ears told him it dropped exactly how it should.
Last Laugh parted the Goblin's upper half of its head from its neck, and I felt like I was watching in some sort of video game "Bullet Time" as the corpse tumbled away; my eyes able to track the trajectories of the body as well as the head. My ears alerted me to move incoming assaults, and my head and eyes snapped back to the threats, and I easily dispatched each and every monster that came my way like they were toddlers trying to come up and tug on my pant legs.
All of the skill and precision work that I had been doing for the past 5 and a half years now had the stats and parameters to back them up, and I felt like a mother fucking GOD .
It was effortless, like a dance, twisting and manipulating my body, my blades, bow, and arrows were mere extensions of myself, and the once pulse-pounding fights of a month ago were now little more than strolls in the park.
It was no wonder seven Level 1s attacking in concert were needed to bring down an average Level 2.
According to Grandpa, every Adventurer who Ranked Up experienced a three-fold increase if their parameters were A-Rank and below. Those who cracked S-Rank got a four-fold increase, but those that maxed their stats at 999-S received a six-fold increase, but the number of Adventurers who did that was slim to none; most took their Rank Ups for the easy boost at D, and C. It was only when the Rank Up requirements got harder, and the time between Level Ups lengthened that people stayed in their Ranks long enough to push their stats past C.
The issue was that the amount of time and effort needed for a regular High-Class Adventurer to push their stats into S-Rank was considered inefficient, this is doubly true when one thinks about the frequent Stat Updates they do that automatically make pushing themselves even harder because of the difficulty decreasing inversely with their stat's gradual rise.
Ultimately, it came down to the 5th through 12th Floors not even offering me anything resembling a challenge; I'd have to fight the Infant Dragon or contend with a swarm of the faster Almiraj and Hellhounds to get anything done here.
The issue is that I had a nanny attached to my hip in the form of Tsubaki, and two lead weights attached to my legs in the form of Naaza Erisuis and Liliruca Arde.
Okay, they weren't dead weight, that was an uncharitable comparison, but while they were both cute, Lili was a normal girl my age, and Naaza was only two years older; trying to instill into them a sense of urgency and an understanding on why precision and control were so damn important when it came down to challenging one's self in the Dungeon with self-imposed Stats Update moratoriums was incredibly difficult.
I actually had to use a chalkboard and draw some little informative comics with bullshit numbers to make it sink in.
"If I earn 10 Excelia for killing a Goblin with my Low-Steel sword on the 5th Floor with my frozen stats, then as long as my equipment doesn't change and my stats don't change, then I will always earn 10 Excelia."
I tapped the chalkboard as I drew a stick figure fighting a stick figure with a big goblin nose and slaying it.
"However, if I use a Mid-Steel sword on this Goblin, then because the difficulty of the fight was lowered, the amount of Excelia I earn drops as well- let's say it drops down to 9 per kill. If I get a status update that increases my stats by 50 points in all stats, then that further drops the amount of Excelia I will earn- let's say 2 Excelia points per 50 Status Points…"
I draw out the numbers on the board as Lili watches with her mouth open while Naaza's sleepy expression remains, but her floppy ears are perked.
"So if I kill 100 goblins in Option A, I will earn 1,000 Excelia. In Option B, if I used a Mid-Steel sword and gained 100 status points, then I would only earn 500 Excelia." I brush the chalk off on my pants, "Now, these numbers obviously aren't exact, but I am living proof that keeping the difficulty as high as possible while still keeping as safe as possible, is a valid option. You don't advance as quickly in the Dungeon, but this method forces you to become as skilled as possible for the Level."
"I hit my hard limit on the 5th Floor with the Stats available to me- I was very, very skilled, but I just did not have the stats to back up my abilities." I placed my hands on my hips and looked at my two students, "I won't force you to do the same thing, but I will ask that you at least give it a chance to work; you might just find that while it will be hard, the experience will be worth it."
I tilt my head to the side as I look out the window towards the four-faced mechanical clock in the middle of the Hephaestus district on a pole and hummed. "Now, it is time for us to do our chores, Lili."
The Pallum slumped in the chair as Naaza snorted, "That is my cue to leave. Have fun Lili-chan!"
"I hate shoveling coal."
It took a few months for it to sink in, but after their first status update after a quarter, they were all surprised at just how much they had grown- Naaza even qualified for a Rank Up thanks to her handling a Monster Party on the 5th Floor that was almost of equal size to the one that had forced her and her original party to flee almost 4 months ago. She used my tactics- using her bow to remove the Capsian Moths first, skirmishing and then breaking the engagement, making space to use her bow and shortsword effectively; her stats were actually higher than mine at the time, and she was using some Mid-Steel instead of the Low-Steel that I had used.
I had been in the low C's whereas Naaza had been high C's with a low B in Dexterity, so the fight wasn't as difficult for her as it had been for myself, but Miach thought that overcoming her previous limitation in such a short amount of time was a worthy story to apply the High-Quality Excelia she had accrued. However, at my suggestion, she refused it and kept the Low to Mid B-Ranked stats she currently had.
We would work on her over the next 6 months to see if we couldn't help her crack into the S-Rank.
Lili, however, had been a Supporter for almost the entirety of her Adventurer career, so her stats were in the low H's when she joined the Hephaestus familia.
It was incredibly difficult handling the girl as she was jealous of Naaza's progress, and had been relegated to fighting on the 1st and 2nd Floors with Tsubaki during the entirety of the four months while I was bringing Naaza up to speed on the 5th, 6th, and 7th Floors.
However, showing her my One Weird Trick to kill the Jack Bird made the little Pallum incredibly pleased; provided she gave me a 25% cut of the weekly profits, I was more than happy to watch the young girl who once scraped and stole for every last valis deposit her 750,000 valis into her account with the familia vault each week.
I was a Level 2 now, so killing the Jack Bird was taboo for me, but that didn't mean that I couldn't have someone else do it for me.
I felt a tug on my collar and looked back to see Tsubaki pointing through the fog on the 12th Floor; Naaza was with Miach today learning how to prepare potions for when she inevitably took her Rank Up, and Lili had her lessons with Hephaestus and the newest batch of prospective Apprentices.
Of the seven that had been with me six months ago, only Himiko and an eccentric Elvish boy named Lemurand were selected to become fully-fledged Apprentices, while the other 5 were told that they could try again after a year's time; to give them more time to grow and mature. This meant that a new batch of Prospectives were now going through my Goddess' teaching program to see if they had what it took to become an Apprentice of the Hephaestus familia.
I had Tsubaki all to myself for today, and that meant I could go far deeper than usual and actually test myself.
This was done with me creating an intentional Monster Party by running through every group of monsters (away from the staircases mind you) and dragging them into one large clump that I then systematically dismantled to the best of my ability. I utilized every last scrap of precision I had to dispatch them with surgical strikes, eliminating excess strength and stamina loss, while switching up my weapons at every available opportunity. I used my bow and arrows just as much as I used my shortsword and twin daggers- I even used my backup knife for more than a few kills just to get a feel for how it actually handles in a fight.
After a few fights to get comfortable, I increased the difficulty by imposing certain limitations- using one arm, or one leg is 'wounded' and I can only limp to the best of my abilities- and there was one monster party that was smaller than the others, so I just went bare-handed and decided "Broken Necks Only".
Orc necks are thick as fuck, and even with my Level 2 strength, they are surprisingly resistant to being snapped. Still didn't stop me from doing it though, but it was a nice diversion- I even got a chuckle out of my senpai as she watched!
Tsubaki stuck towards the edges of the fights to put down any stragglers and warn off approaching Adventurer parties.
Tsubaki's finger flicking my ear snapped me out of my reverie. "Pay attention, Bell-kichi- you hear that?"
I blinked but kept my eyes open and focused on my hearing- closing your eyes to focus in the Dungeon is stupid as hell.
It was incredibly faint, but off in the distance, I heard a number of thumps that were somewhat muffled by the much closer sounds of Orcs and Imps meandering throughout the fog; we were away from the White Tree forest, so Silverbacks were unlikely, and we weren't close to the walls of the Floor so that ruled out Hard Armored. Which was a shame because Hard Armored had a Scaled Leather drop that was on my list of things to farm for because it was a good bit tougher than the Orc Hide drops that Adventurers brought back to the surface; it was also heat resistant as well.
While not as good as the Salamander Wool, you can imbue all of your Dungeon clothes with the effects of the Scaled Leather, giving yourself more full-body protection from heat and cold than just what the Salamander Wool cloaks can provide; that and it means that you don't have a cloak restricting your movements.
Having run through all of the options I look at Tsubaki and arch an eyebrow. "Infant Dragon?"
The woman smiled a bit and nodded before she flicked her Katana free from its scabbard and pulled it free in a single, smooth draw. "If you were protected with Salamander Wool and had your first Status Update- along with a better sword, I might let you take it on, but since you don't, I'll go and handle this. If we're lucky, then maybe we'll get something good from it."
The half-dwarf gave me a grin before she blurred off into the fog, and less than ten seconds later a roar pierced through the air and it quickly cut off; man, she really is something.
Less than a minute later she comes back with a stone the size of a small apple and deposits it into my Supporter Pack with a huff. "I never get anything from those guys. It's like the Dungeon is conspiring against me- 30 years of Adventuring, and the Infant Dragon just doesn't give me anything!"
"That really sucks." I place my hand on her forearm and gave it a few pats; it was hard to hold back my chuckles as the Level 5 sulked over her poor luck regarding the drop of a Level 2 monster, "There, there, 'Baki-nee. It's okay. You can cry on my shoulder if you want."
I take a swat to the back of my head that is enough to ring my bell. Damnit! This is minor abuse! After I regain my footing I reach back and grasp onto my Whisperwood stave and chant out a quick Soothing Touch to reduce the ringing in my skull down to a dull throb.
"Ouch, come on," I grumble a little bit and rub at my head for a few moments until the ground around us starts to crack- a half dozen orcs and imps pulling themselves from the floor. A few howls from the nearby trees got me to drop my pack, and Last Laugh is pulled from its sheath.
Tsubaki crosses her arms and smirks. "Well, have fun."
"Come on, Lili, Naaza. One more set and we're done for the day."
The two young girls are huffing and puffing alongside me as we take the last turn around the Hephaestus familia forge district. "You… are… evil."
Naaza grunted out, her slightly longer legs barely carrying her along with the pace I'd set.
"Lili still has her chores to do after this," The Pallum panted on my other side as sweat poured down her face, "You just get to sit down and listen to Miach-sama talk about plants! You also have way higher stats than Lili- Naaza-chan doesn't get to complain!"
While we couldn't go as fast or as hard as I usually did, I'd found that carrying two large sacks of coal over my shoulders was a fairly decent way to increase the difficulty on myself. I just had to increase my laps- it was an amazing feeling running through the early morning streets of Orario with only a handful of Adventurers in sight, although Lili and Naaza looked more fed up each and every time I lapped them.
We finally slowed our pace down to a walk and swept through the wrought iron gate of the district and as we passed by the coal piles I dropped my sacks with the rest of them and clapped the dust from my shoulders. "Alright you two, up on the bars, let's go."
The two girls huffed but thankfully obeyed; pull-ups were a great exercise.
"Hey, Tsubaki, are these the nodes we are looking for?" I call out to my senpai from over my shoulder. My eyes were carefully looking over a jagged, egg-like protrusion jutting out from the wall on the 12th Floor; there were six of them clustered together, and about twenty paces away there was another cluster of three.
"Yup! Those are the ore nodes we're looking for, good eye." Tsubaki chuckled as she walked up to me and grabbed one of the nodes with her bare hands and tore it off the wall, her fingers crumpling the stone and shaking it free to reveal an oblong chunk of metal that had a dark grey finish and a cubic structure, "This right here? This is Mid-Steel, at least, unrefined Mid-Steel. Once we smelt it and hammer out some of the impurities anyway. Three of these little nodes should make a good longsword of standard length and thickness- if we were to make one how you make your shortswords, we'd probably need five of them."
She cleared all of the rock away from the nodule of Mid-Steel and sat it in my hands before she tilted her head at the rest of them. "I found about eight more clusters along the walls here across the floor, so… get to it."
A sigh escaped my lips as I grabbed onto the pick-ax and sat my pack down on the ground.
"Aw, come on, don't be like that! This is something we all do!" The half-dwarf chuckled as she wiped her dusty hands on her pants, "Every Apprentice gets to try their hand at resource collection, just be thankful you're Level 2, or else you'd be mining the Low-Steel on the 7th Floor; trying to mine those while being set-upon by Killer Ants is no easy task."
Off in the distance, I can hear the howls and roars of Silverbacks. "No, I just get these guys instead. Can we go lower yet?"
I bring the High-Steel pick-ax above my head and swing it down.
25 months after my arrival I finally hit my second wall on the 15th Floor; it was inevitable- even with my skills the sheer number of Almiraj, Hellhounds, along with the introduction of the Lygerfang and Minotaur proved to be the limit.
The rabbit-like monsters were fairly easy to rush down, and the dog monsters really enjoyed standing still for me to pelt them in the face with arrows, but the large lion-tiger monsters had the tendency to fuck my flow of battle up by leaping at me from odd angles; the tiered nature of the terrain on the Middle-Floors letting them take advantage of their cat-like mobility. The Minotaurs? Those I just had to avoid long enough to clear out all of the other monsters, and then I could fight it one on one with little issue; at least, unless they had a landform weapon, those guys were a little trickier.
If only because the landform weapons gave them far more reach.
I slid under the sweeping strike from the Minotaur's halberd, my legs creaking at the sudden change in direction- that was fine, however, I merely adjusted my strike to slip Last Laugh into the monster's kneecap instead. The beast let out a roar of pain and stumbled back, and with its landform weapon out of position, I popped back up to my feet and slid the shortsword into its belly before yanking it free at an angle; the War Shadow Steel was proving its worth as the weapon slipped free easily, even with the Minotaur's substantial muscle mass trying to lock it into place.
It was a favored tactic of the monsters- take a blow and then clench the weapon into place; unless your weapon was slick or you had superior strength, you would either be forced to abandon it or be stuck in range for it to grapple.
The issue is that they didn't usually do this when they had a landform weapon, and if they did it was because they were trying to lock me down in place for another-
I blinked and immediately threw myself forward and left, towards the only direction that I could see for a fact that was clear of monsters, and when I completed my roll I spun around and saw Tsubaki standing there with a Lygerfang impaled on her Katana. A small frown was on her face as she reached up punched a small hole in the side of the large cat monster's skull before yanking her sword free. "That five times in five engagements here on the 15th Floor, Bell-kichi. You're able to handle yourself on the 14th Floor just fine, but the numbers spawning here are just too much for you to handle as you are now."
The Minotaur, for his part, was stumbling back away from Tsubaki, and I took the opportunity to take a flying leap and slipped my blade into his spine, right above the base of the neck; the steel screeched as it ground against the bone, but the strike did the job- the monster locked up and then collapsed like a ragdoll before fading away into ash, leaving his monster core behind.
"Damnit, what's it take to get a Drop Item here?" I grunted to myself as I scanned the area and then seeing it actually clear began inspecting my blade; I was going to have to grind down the edges and re-sharpen it; after six months Last Laugh was roughly halfway through its life-span and I really wanted to make a replacement for it before it broke, but the drops just weren't happening.
I picked up the scattered monster cores from the party in the immediate area before picking up my pack and following Tsubaki as we re-traced our steps back along the corridors; this party had been almost 40 strong, and I had to turn it into a running battle to prevent myself from getting overwhelmed. Still, even then, Tsubaki had to rescue me five times in as many engagements, and that was the "failure condition" Hephaestus, Tsubaki, and I settled on.
I probably could have eked out a better performance if I had more time in the Dungeon, but Hephaestus had me making longswords now, in a similar style to my shortswords; they weren't as resource-efficient, but they were getting pretty good feedback from what the Adventurers were leaving on their "Comment Cards". That was something I introduced to try and get more feedback from the Adventurers who were using my weapons- bring in your receipt of purchase from the Guild, along with a handwritten note on their experience with my blade as compared to the standard shortsword the Guild offers, and get a 5% discount from the Guild on their next purchase of my product.
I had to set up a fund with the Guild where that money would be drawn from, but other than a few bullshit reviews, there were actually a great many who left thoughtful comments- the blades were sturdier, and because they were thicker they could be sharpened more or ground down further if there were chips in the blade. Of course, my design wasn't revolutionary or anything, in fact, most smiths used something similar, but this was the first time such a quality blade was offered to the Guild at this price point.
Overall, people were still using the initial blade they purchased when they otherwise would have had to buy a replacement or two already, and for them, that was a great value for the valis.
I only hoped that my longswords were met with just as much acclaim.
As I picked up the last monster core from my engagement, Tsubaki threaded her fingers through my hair and gave me a light tug. "Come on, Bell-kichi, don't look so sad. You did great in making it this far with just your current abilities- most fresh Level 2s are still at the 11th Floors, and yet you're almost to Big Bull Alley. Just take the update when we get back and I'm sure you'll be looking at Under Resort for the first time in just a couple of months."
I sighed but nodded as much as I could with her fingers in my hair. "I know, I know. It just sucks, you know? You're giving it your all and you hit that point where your best just isn't good enough."
"Everyone hits those points in their career, Bell, if anything, everyone who isn't doing what you're doing hits those points; you just trade slow, gradual progress in stats for large leaps in performance." The walls cracked and Tsubaki grabs me by the hand before tugging me along, "Come on, let's go! I don't feel like drawing my sword again- we're running, all the way back!"
Wait, all the way back!?
Spoiler: Bell Winters
Bell Winters
Level 2
Strength: 0 I - 490 E
Endurance: 0 I - 357 F
Dexterity: 0 I - 521 D
Agility: 0 I - 504 D
Magic: 0 I - 355 F
Spoiler: Lilruca
Liliruca Arde Level 1
Strength: 322 F - 601 C
Endurance: 350 F - 623 C
Dexterity: 408 E - 670 C
Agility: 375 F - 527 D
Magic: 333 F - 488 E
Spoiler: Naaza
Naaza Erisuis Level 1 - Level 2 (Elligible)
Strength: 655 C - 809 A
Endurance: 666 C - 823 A
Dexterity: 755 B - 930 S
Agility: 648 C - 798 B
Magic: 630 C - 764 A
These were… actually really quite good. I don't think that Lili was ever this strong in canon considering she didn't really do much, but the little Pallum girl was waving her stat sheet around in my face. "Bell-sama, Bell-sama! Are these really Lili's stats? This can't be right! Lili is a Supporter!"
Naaza sat on a small chair with her hands primly folded in her lap as she gazed at the Pallum with her sleepy eyes. "Don't be silly, Lili-chan, of course, those are your stats. You've been working hard with us every day, have you not? You've been in the Dungeon on the 3rd Floor with Tsubaki-sama working on your technique just as Bell-kun told you to do, have you not?"
Liliruca stopped floundering around when Hephaestus put her ungloved hand on top of the girl's head and began applying head scritches; she might not be using her spell for anything other than training these days, but whenever we went to Hephaestus she used her magic to give herself some form of animal ears- the Goddess always played with them, and honestly?
It seemed rather enjoyable, which was weird because I'd never had any sort of body envy of any kind, but seeing how Naaza and Lili seem to just relax into her hands, the relief seemed pretty real.
I felt a hand come down on top of my head and rough calloused fingers scrubbed roughly at my scalp. "No need to be envious, Usagi-kyun, 'Baki-nee will give you all the head pats you want!"
I'd never seen Naaza look so envious- whether that envy was directed at me or Tsubaki I wouldn't know, but it wasn't like I was going to just lay my head in a young girl's lap and ask her to pet me!
28 months was when I hit my 3rd wall.
Solo clearing the 17th Floor was my goal, and I was nowhere near half of that, even with my last status update. This was my Level 3, I could taste it. I managed to get my hand on a Minotaur horn drop, finally, and with Tsubaki's help I was able to fashion Herd Culler , my High-Steel Minotaur shortsword that was pretty much the same as Last Laugh in every way except the metal had taken on a more blood-red hue.
I retired Last Laugh to a sword mount on Hephaestus' display wall- right next to the very first shortsword I ever made; my Goddess had one of every weapon each of her Children made on display in the long hallway leading up to her office and bedroom. The Apprentice smith's first weapon, their first Drop Item weapon, their first weapon as a Journeyman smith, and their first weapon as a Master smith.
Considering the hundreds upon hundreds of Children she's had in her 300 years since her descent, it was a lot of weapons, but Hephaestus could remember the names of each weapon and the smiths who made them. The few times I wandered past the hallway leading to her office- the Hall of Memories- to drop off my coin earned with the familia's clerks, I sometimes saw her picking up a weapon or armor piece from off the walls and giving it a once over before gently, reverently putting it back into place.
It made me feel some type of way; sad. Nostalgic. Sure, they were gone from the Lower World, but Zeus assured me that those that passed on were in Tenkai waiting for their Divine's return; she would see them again before they returned to the cycle of reincarnation.
Most mortals didn't know that, but they just had a feeling, and for most that was good enough.
"COME! ON! YOU! FUCKERS!" I roared out as Herd Culler sang in my hand, the red High-Steel blade flashing out to sever a Minotaur's leg at the knee; the moment his back hit the rough stone of the 17th Floor I was already on him, the blade plunging into his neck. The bastard was dying, but he still managed to grasp onto the blade, forcing me to disengage and leave the weapon behind.
A swinging fist out of the corner of my eye was unavoidable, so I crossed my arms over my chest and kicked off the ground with the blow- the leap taking more than half of the force out of it. My forearms throbbed painfully, but gripping my dual War Shadow daggers let me know that nothing was broken; I was just going to have hella bruises once this was over- nothing that Soothing Touch couldn't handle.
I needed another spell, but damnit if I wasn't feeling the lack of Jack Bird income; I had sacrificed my quarter to Naaza to help her get some new equipment- I made her a shortsword and twin daggers like my own at cost, but her bow and arrows were something she was going to have to procure for herself, and boy, were bows capable of handling a Level 2's strength expensive!
I've been squeaking by with the bow I brought with me, but the difference between my abilities with a bow and Naaza's was like comparing a hobbyist to a professional Olympic shooter; I could control my strength perfectly and put my arrows right where I wanted them, she couldn't. At least not yet.
However, soon I too would be joining the "30 Million valis Bow Club", not to be confused with Naaza's "5 Million valis Bow Club"; Level 3 would see me on the Middle Floors, and my regular bow and arrows would be better off used for kindling down there.
My knives flashed out and I slew three more Minotaurs before I was able to close the distance and retrieve Herd Culler, but that proved to be my undoing as a Minotaur leaped out at me with a landform club outstretched- that was until it was rendered into a half-dozen pieces. Tsubaki's Katana was sheathed with a 'clack' as she turned to me, "That's 5 for 5, Bell-kichi."
I killed the last two Minotaur in the area with an angry huff.
Barely three months since my last Status Update, and I can't progress any further than this?
On the way back up to the surface, I had to look at this objectively; the monsters on the middle floors were nothing like the monsters on the Upper Floors. They weren't as two-dimensional; while the War Shadows struck from the shadows, they didn't lay ambushes like the Minotaurs did- like the one who almost splattered me. He knew I would return for my weapon, and while his fellows died he sat back and waited where I couldn't see him.
Even with my improved armor and endurance, mistakes down here were amplified- taking a fist the size of a watermelon to the chest by an 800-pound cow monster wasn't the same as getting bitten by even a Hellhound on the 14th Floor. The Minotaurs attacked in groups, displayed rudimentary tactics, and on occasion, used the terrain to their advantage.
There was a reason why the 17th Floor had the highest fatality rate outside of the 7th Floor; fighting off one or two Minotaurs with some Lygerfangs, Almiraj, and Hellhounds supporting was different than fighting off a dozen Minotaurs.
This was doubly true because unlike everyone else, I was chaining them into a Monster Party- a controlled one, but a Monster Party nonetheless. Most 17th Floor encounters would see maybe 4 Minotaurs attack parties at most, but I just had to amp up the difficulty to the highest I could get it, and I'd pull multiple groups in.
By conventional Adventurer standards, what I was doing was certifiably insane, but just like Grandpa told me, I had someone much stronger than me watching my every move- just waiting to pull me out of the fire.
It was calculated risk-taking at its finest, and this was how the Zeus and Hera familias were able to climb to the top and stay there. They could take risks that most people wouldn't dream of because unlike everyone else who moved in their own power circles, the Level 5s, 6s, and 7s of the Zeus familia had no problem dedicating hundreds of hours each year to watch over their member's growth.
As much as I really liked the main characters of the show, I couldn't really see someone like Bete Loga or Finn Deimne willing to spend hours watching over their borderline Level 1s- no, most of the time that was done on their own time and at their own risk; the members of the familia, unless they were part of a large party, either grew on their own or they died on their own.
The "I gots mine" mentality that Adventurers displayed really irked me, but I was grateful for Tsubaki for looking after me, and I made sure to pay it forward by looking after Naaza and Liliruca while she did her own thing.
When I grew strong enough to watch over her, then… it would be my turn.
Spoiler: Bell Winters
Bell Winters Level 2
Strength: 490 E - 871 A
Endurance: 357 F - 883 A
Dexterity: 521 D - 913 S
Agility: 504 D - 892 A
Magic: 355 F - 670 C
Spoiler: Liliruca
Liliruca Arde Level 1
Strength: 601 F - 820 A
Endurance: 623 C - 799 B
Dexterity: 670 C - 788 B
Agility: 527 D - 698 C
Magic: 488 E - 601 C
Spoiler: Naaza
Naaza Erisuis Level 1 - Level 2 (Elligible)
Strength: 809 A - 940 S
Endurance: 823 A - 927 S
Dexterity: 930 S - 999 S
Agility: 798 B - 909 S
Magic: 764 A - 888 A
"Lili would like to start accompanying you and Naaza-chan when you go to the Middle Floors now, Bell-sama." The Pallum fidgeted in her chair as the three of us sat in Hephaestus' office.
The sleepy-eyed puppy looked incredibly pleased with herself, and I gave her some ear scratches as I handed Naaza back her status sheet; the little cheinthrope's tail swished from side to side. Once the reward was distributed I had to sit back down and concentrate. Lili was able to clear the 8th and 9th Floors by herself but still struggled with the larger enemies like the Orcs, if only because her smaller size meant that she was forced to use an even shorter sword than I was; I was 6 months away from 12 years of age, and I was about to start shooting up like a weed.
I hoped .
Being stuck with Bell's canon height would be too much for someone who had been 6'2" in my previous life.
Naaza was now ranging down to the 13th Floor and was finding out just how difficult it was to do solo- though her familia Captain, a Level 3 cheinthrope by the name of Harrold Murn, had taken over for Tsubaki in making sure she could push herself efficiently.
If we included Lili then I would end up slowing myself down, but at the same time, I didn't want to be Bell Cranel and just up and leave everyone who was supporting me in the dust. I was still on track for a 12 month Level Up with my stats as they were now… I also needed to work on my magic more, so picking up another stave and spell would let me practice working the backline more- getting Lili used to a more front-line role with Naaza would be good experience for everyone involved.
I looked up at Tsubaki, "I think that we can start partying up down to the 13th floor, but we'll take a month or so down on the 10th, 11th, and 12th Floors. Does that sound alright?"
My Captain grinned broadly and nodded while Hephaestus put down some paperwork and smiled softly. "Good, good. I think that you three will have a nice, well-rounded party for one so small. I don't think Tsubaki-chan or Murn-kun will need to supervise you if you're only going down to those floors."
"Greetings Lenoa-san! I'm coming in!" I called out after handling the "secret knock" on the outside of the old bat's shop.
Spoiler: Lenoa the Witch
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"Ah, Bell Winters-kun, come in boy, come in. Don't let this old lady scare you off. Ehehehehe." The old Witch crooned as I slipped inside its plain, drab interior; I had to fight back a sneeze- for how frequented this place was by the mages of the city, it always felt as though no one ever came by. "My, it's been over a year since you last stopped by! Tell me, how have you been progressing, hmmm? Since you've come in here to purchase another spellbook then I would have to guess that you've made some progress, yes?"
I took a moment to look around the shop, walking past the bookshelves while we chatted back and forth. "I can cast Soothing Touch in about 20 seconds now with my Magic stat and focus- almost as quickly as I can speak the chant."
"Oh? Even if it is a beginner spell, that is quite the feat, dearie. I suppose that you're looking for a more advanced healing spell?" Leona spoke as she tended the same cauldron I saw during my last visit.
"Yes, preferably one with a stamina recovery component. I remember you telling me that Spring Vitality was out of my reach then, do you think that would be the case now?" My fingers slipped over the spine of one tome entitled 'Spirited Touch', "Hmm… what about 'Buff Magics'?"
She let out a curious squawk, but since I was behind the bookshelf I couldn't see her. "I don't know what a 'Buff Magic' is. Never heard of it."
I blinked and rubbed my chin, "What about ah… 'Stat Improvement' or 'Support magics'?"
"Ah! Those! I might have a few that would meet your requirements- 'Dwarven Might' , 'Fairy Grace' , 'Magician's Wonder' . Those spells boost whoever you target with enhanced Strength and Endurance, improved Dexterity and Agility, and boost the effects of all spells cast within an area of effect no matter what they may be."
"Those sound pretty impressive, Lenoa-san. By about how much?" I walked around the shelves until I found the 'Support Magic' shelf and found the titles she listed and one of them caught my eye. "And what about 'Total Body' ?"
"Hmmm, the two buffing spells increase stats by roughly three whole letter grades, and Magician's Wonder is a nifty little spell, but it mainly boosts the magic of Mages within the circle. It has been tested quite thoroughly by the community, and you can expect a thirty percent improvement in spell effectiveness- but that is only for spells of a Medium chant or lower; the spell is too weak to reinforce the framework of a long-chat spell." The Witch gave me a critical look, "As for 'Total Body', it gives roughly a Letter Grade and a half of all stats except Magic. So it is the perfect happy medium between 'Dwarven Might' and 'Fairy Grace' ; the added bonus is that since it is touch-based you can split the spell between multiple people."
"And if I cast this spell while within the area of 'Magician's Wonder' then I can boost the effectiveness of the 'Total Body' by 30%?"
She grinned and poked a finger at me, "Now you're thinking like a proper Support Mage! So few of those nowadays, everybody wants to be the next Riveria Ljos Alf with the flashy, powerful spells; nobody wants to remember that the greatest tool a Mage has is versatility- any lunk can swing an ax, but a Mage can have a spell for any situation. Now, as for a healing spell… 'Forest Breeze' is probably at the level you are right now; a little more effective than a Low-Grade healing potion, but it has a 1-meter area of effect and can rejuvenate someone half as well as a Stamina potion."
She scratched her chin and hopped off of her chair and walked around to a display rack holding a variety of staves- Whisperwood in a pale birch, Songwood was white oak in color, Whitewood was as white as chalk but almost pine in texture, Chantwood a rich mahogany, Oathwood in dark ebony, Prayerwood was golden oak in coloration, and Godswood was the most unique of them all- it appeared to be a pale blue crystal that had been grown into a single branch.
"Come here, dearie, and don't even think about touching the Godswood- that display piece cost me 3 Billion valis alone; so just don't . Okay?" She grunted as she waved me over.
"I know not to touch things when I'm told not to, Lenoa-san."
Her frown turned upside down into a big, shit-eating grin. "Okay, good. I'd hate for you to die from the curses I placed upon it- taking them off for someone who can actually afford to even look at it is a huge hassle. You are a very diligent boy, and more importantly, a future customer who's going to be giving me a lot of money; I'd hate for you to die so soon!"
I blink. She's kidding, right?
Regardless, she grabbed the Whisperwood and handed it over to me. "Okay, run through your Soothing Touch spell for me, I'm going to hold on to you and watch, okay?"
It was functionally similar, and I went through the chant and the weaves of the mana at my usual pace. Once I healed her she gave me a big grin. "Well done, boy! 23 seconds and I didn't even feel you hurrying. For self-taught you sure did excellently; why if I were a Mage looking for an apprentice I'd eat my pointy little hat if I couldn't pick you up!"
My eyebrows reached towards the ceiling, my voice was a little more hopeful than I would have liked. "Are… you offering to teach me?"
"Oh? No, not at all! I have my hands full with my shop, taking on an Apprentice, much less someone who's already an Apprentice to another art would be far too much for either of us to handle." The woman chuckled and pinched my cheek before she took the Whisperwood staff out of my hand and put the Songwood one into my hand, "Okay, now try it again."
The Songwood was a little different- the Whisperwood was exactly like its namesake: it wanted you to be gentle with your flows, slowly moving them throughout the medium as you would hold a quiet conversation; like you were chatting over dinner plans with the Missus while the kids were napping on the couch. Songwood seemed to demand a certain… cadence to it. It was lighter, more airy, like songbirds chirping in the morning, or a… an Army Running cadence.
Yeah, that felt more accurate, at least in my opinion.
"12 Seconds… not bad, it usually takes time to learn the little quirks of each Spellwood- but those quirks can become quite handy once you learn them all; you'll find that certain spells also perform better with certain kinds of woods- most true Support Mages often carry two or sometimes three different staves depending on which spells they're using." The old woman chuckled as she took the staff from my hand and lead me over to the counter, "However, Songwood is a blanket improvement over Whisperwood for you in any case- that's more for when you're trying to decide between Chantwood, Oathwood, and Prayerwood."
I looked around and caught sight of a display case in which an unassuming tome sat. The title was simply " Magic", with a five-pointed star sitting prominently in the middle of the cover.
"Is that a Grimoire?" I asked, and the old Witch patted me on the cheek.
"Yes it is, I haven't put it up for sale yet, why are you interested?" The tip of her hat bobbed as she hopped back up onto her stool and began stirring the cauldron again.
"Uh… a personal magic that takes almost no effort to use?"
Did she even need to ask? I had over 145 Million saved up between my Jack Bird killings over the past two years and my earnings in the Middle Floors with Tsubaki. To be quite honest, the valis was burning a hole in my pocket, and since I had to be exact with my upgrades I had a bunch of money with nothing to spend it on.
"Give me a firm price on the Grimoire, 'Total Body' , 'Magician's Wonder' , 'Forest Breeze' , and a Songwood stave." I stepped forward and put my hands… and my chin on the counter; it was a pretty tall counter.
I watched her tongue work over her teeth as she fixed me with a gimlet eye. "I could get a lot of money on that Grimoire if I put it up for auction… the last one I sold for 122 Million. All told you'd be looking at 150 Million valis."
I felt my heart sink and I sighed.
"But…"
Okay, my heart is rising again.
"I think I can give it to you for… 130 Million valis. You think you can afford that?" She grinned, "You're a hard-working lad if from what I've heard is true, and when a young child can teach himself magic in between delving into the Dungeon and learning an involved trade such as blacksmithing? I'd like to think that even if I can't directly teach you I can at least do what I can to nurture that talent. Besides, I'd just be selling that thing to the same Goddess every time anyway- Freya always buys me out every chance she gets, and when was the last time the Hephaestus familia ever had a Mage, hmmm? Would be interesting to see where you go from here."
I tapped on the counter while I waited patiently for her to finish. "I have that. I have that. Let me run back to the familia and draw from my account and get my onee-san so she can escort me back- I wouldn't feel confident carrying that much coin around in my pocket."
The old crone grinned. "You better hurry up, child, I'm going to be closing soon. I need my beauty sleep after all."
"Come on, come on, she said she was going to close up her shop soon!"
I was tearing down 3rd Avenue with Tsubaki laughing as she followed behind me with a large sack slung over her shoulders. "Relax, will you? I might not know Lenoa-san as well as the Mages of the city do, but if she was going to sell you something worth bringing me around to escort you back, then she isn't just close up shop and tell you to come back tomorrow."
"Go away. The store is closed."
I felt dead inside and couldn't help but curse under my breath and give a little annoyed stomp. Tsubaki looked a little sheepish as she scratched the back of her head. "Ah, my mistake, Bell-kichi-"
She was cut off when the door opened up and Lenoa stuck her head out with a toothy grin. "Just kidding, come on in here dearie."
You old troll!
[That same night]
"Firm is the body that- ohhhhhhhhhhhhh sssssshhhhhiiiiiiiiiiittttttt!!!!!"
[30 minutes later]
"Firm is the body that- ffffffffffffuuuuuuuuucccckkkkkk mmmmmeeeeeee!!!!"
[1 hour later]
"Firm is- ooooohhhhh mmmuuutthhheerrr fffuuuccckkkeeeerrr!!!"
[2 Hours later]
There was a knock at the door.
"Bell-kichi. It is one in the morning. Go to bed. Better yet, use that Grimoire already, just having it in the compound unused is making me antsy, which is strange because we have tens of billions of valis in weapons and materials here and- just… get it used, please? Your Tsubaki-nee-chan can't sleep with that book in the compound!"
"There are two types of Magic. The first is what certain races are born with. The second, called Falna, is granted by a deity's blessing."
"The latter is, in a sense, a form of self-expression: What are you interested in? What do you accept? What do you like? What do you hate? What do you desire? What do you regret? What do you worship? What do you swear as your most solemn vow? What is your heart truly long for?"
"The trigger has been within you from the start… shall we begin, Joshua Winters/Bell Cranel?"
"Question: What is Magic to me?"
An immovable object. An unstoppable force. A guiding hand. A mending touch. Magic is everything because it can be anything. While people might have their limits, Magic does not. If there is a problem, Magic can be the solution.
"Question: What sort of thing is Magic to me?"
Magic is the
battlefield
- wars can be won or lost based on how much firepower one can bring. It is the battlefield itself- even the strongest in the world can be brought low by a middling mage if the opportunity presents itself.
"Question: What do I seek from Magic?"
I… I seek control. Control over myself, over my situation. I strive to find some way to anchor myself to this work, always seeking out the next step forward lest I be swept away, like a leaf on the wind. I seek power not for the sake of power, but for the sake of those who are depending on me to make a measurable difference in the dark days to come. I want to cage lightning in a bottle and use it to light my way forward.
"Question: Is that all?"
No. Not at all. There is just so much more I seek, but deep down I know that all of those things will come to me in time. Would he be happy, Bell Cranel? Would that heroic dreamer, that child, would he be proud to look upon me and see the boy I am right now, and the man I'll become tomorrow?
"You worry too much about things that have no bearing. You are one. You always have been. You always will be. Stop being a worrywart and look towards the future- save who you can, save who you want, and be the Man you wish to be."
I guess… that's all I can do, huh?
[3 Weeks Later]
Okay, so, newsflash- magic is hard, but these were still low-powered spells so I felt more comfortable trying them out; even if Lenoa assured me that the Songwood could handle the Ignis Faatus of the spells I was working on… if it was just pain and no damage, then I might as well just do it internally until I can at least get the weaves down well enough. It is slow going, but the pain is something that is temporary- a 30 Million valis stave should be for forever.
Especially since I blew almost all of my money; I still needed to save up an additional 15 Million valis for my new bow, and since I was now keeping myself to the 11th through 14th floors for Lili and Naaza, my cash flow dropped from 500,000 or more per dive down to 100,000 after being split three ways with the familia tithes and Guild taxes. Still not a bad haul, however.
"Lili! Naaza! Group them up and then I'll knock them down!" I call out from the rear, and the Pallum and Cheinthrope begin herding the monsters until they formed a big, beautiful cluster, and I leaped up into the air and landed in the center of them as my companions backpedaled swiftly.
"Storm Circle!" I hollered out the name of my new Super Short Chant spell, and everything within 15 meters of me crackles with static, and a half-second later lightning surged across the ground and snaked into the bodies of my enemies; the orcs seized up while the imps died outright.
As I retreated back to my original position, Liliruca and Naaza slipped back into the clump of monsters and began slaughtering them as they tried to overcome to paralysis I'd inflicted upon them.
That was my magic, my unique magic, personal to me. No one else in the world would ever have a spell like this, and it brought warmth to my heart. At least, until some egg-head over in "Magic Town" heard about it and decided to shit on my parade and come up with their own version of it and then sell it to the masses- that was how most spells were made according to Lenoa.
Storm Circle was a Small-Area battlefield control magic that dealt a small amount of electrical damage while causing a powerful paralysis to set into place; it sacrificed killing power for area-of-effect crowd control that was strong enough to paralyze even Level 2 Adventurers who didn't have Abnormal Resist of at least H or better. It had a maximum radius of 15 meters, but if I concentrated and kept the spell in close down to its minimum range of 2 meters, then I could give even Tsubaki quite the shock.
It wouldn't do much more than make her stumble, but for a Level 2 with a Super Short Chant spell to do even that? That was damn impressive; it lacked the kill potential of Firebolt, especially without the Argonaut skill to back it up, but it gave me a much-needed too in my toolkit.
It was my Crowd Control, my Keep-Away, and my Kill-Setup.
Everything I needed and more, and I got it for the low, low, price of 90 Million valis.
My purse was crying, of that, there was no doubt.
"Alright girls, let's clean up here and head on back! I don't know about you, but I feel like stopping by the Hostess of Fertility; Hephaestus-sama has really talked it up, and I can't wait to give it a try."
"Ah, Lili has eaten there before with Naaza-chan. It was very good."
As the girls chattered on about what they ate the last time they went there, I just wondered if Syr was a thing yet. Truth be told I'd been avoiding the place for over two years now, but I need to bite the bullet and actually look; while Freya might not know about me yet, nothing good would come from sitting back and letting her plot if she did.
Besides, my Goddess talked up Mamma Mia's Shepard's Pie, and I'd like to taste it for myself- the canteen at the Smithing District is nice, but I'm feeling like something a little bit different.
A/N: Damn spoilers always want to mess with me. lol Not a lot this chapter, just more world-building, background stuff, but next chapter is our two favorite Amazons and Level 3!
Chapter 5 - Progress and Possible Un-Progress
A/N: Typically when one looks at a situation and thinks 'YOLO'… stupid things happen. Warning: Possible cringe-inducing things are in the chapter. You have been warned. (Man, I had the whole speech really good in my head, and then when it came time to sit down and write it out my brain farted. Doesn't it suck when that happens?)
[Raul Nord]
The sounds of steel rending flesh filled the air, and the bellows of a Minotaur dying soon followed.
Insanity.
That was only what Raul Nord could describe it all.
Raul and Anakitty had just made Level 3 a few months back, and they were on their way down to the middle floors with Alicia Forestlight, Narvi Roll, and Cruz Bussell who were still Level 2 to support Loki-sama's favorite child Aiz Wallenstein in her bid for Level 5. Her stats were there, but she needed the High-Quality Excelia to move up, and she was going to do what she always did which was throwing herself at the monsters until either they died or she did.
The event that lead to Raul's and Anakitty's Rank Up had been a horrible one- their party had attempted to assist a fellow party on the 22nd Floor when another group of monsters flanked both groups and turned an orderly, fighting retreat into a bloody scrap that left both parties in a daze. The fighting had been desperate, both groups of Adventurers taking horrible injuries, but when all appeared lost Aiz Wallenstein descended from the sky like a comet wreathed in the very winds themselves… and she fought all on the monsters their behalf.
No, she killed all of the monsters on their behalf, and while to everyone else, it was if an angel had landed in their midst, to Raul? He could only see a broken individual, a body without a soul. The blonde girl five years his junior fought like she was possessed, the child taking on large groups of monsters by herself with zero regard for her own safety; deep within the comfort and safety of his own mind, he thought that the only reason she saved them was that they were where the monsters were at.
Of course, such an opinion about the Sword Princess would spell his early demise in a familia that did nothing but sing her praises, so he kept his observations to himself and just stared in horror at the wounds the girl had received in her defense of them.
Before he had been too wounded and too exhausted to assist her any further, but now he was here, with his party at his back and Aiz Wallenstein standing by his side and he was watching it all happen again, except this time it was with the up-and-comer of the Hephaestus familia- the Smith Prince.
Raul Nord could do nothing except stand in place and watch. Follow him and watch. He could do nothing, however, not because he didn't want to, but because there was a Level 5 and his two Level 2 companions preventing them from taking action.
"This is his fight. He's worked very hard for this moment, don't even think of interfering." The half-dwarf grunted, her arms crossed underneath her gauze-bound breasts, "If he needs it, I will be the one to intervene. Watch if you want to, but if you go around, don't kill a single monster on your way out. Don't ruin this for him."
Raul had wanted to go on ahead, but Aiz had been rooted in place, her unnatural, unblinking golden eyes tracked his every movement like a cat watching a string.
To be fair, everyone else just wanted to watch as well, and Raul hated it.
Having to sit back and watch one broken child endlessly pursue strength was one thing, but having to watch another do it as well? Did they not know how important and precious their lives were? Did they not care about the people they would leave behind?
Were they… not afraid of death?
The only thing that Raul could say was different about the Smith Prince was that he fought differently than the Sword Princess; he didn't appear to have a powerful Magic like Aiz's Ariel to cut through the monsters like they weren't even there. He couldn't scatter them with hurricane-force winds or pierce their forms with drills that parted flesh like wheat before the scythe.
No, he fired mundane arrows from a mundane bow, his arrows always finding their softest parts- their eyes, their ear canals, their mouths, and even their narrow nostrils could be filled with steel and wood. However, soon, his arrows ran out, and he cast his bow back to Tsubaki Collebrand to draw a red-tinted High-Steel shortsword that looked incredibly familiar- how could he not recognize its make when Loki had been sending her Level 1s to buy out the Guild's stock every time those blades hit the shelves?
"I'm not doing it because I like the kid or anything. He's shrimpy and annoying and he dared to criticize my Aiz-tan! However, if he's going to be selling these blades at rock bottom prices, I'd be an irresponsible Goddess if I didn't pick up my kiddies the best equipment possible! The fact I get to save a boatload of valis doing it is just the icing on the cake! Fufufufhahahahaha!"
Unlike most Adventurers, however, the boy had no compunctions about abandoning his weapon when holding onto it would leave him in a disadvantageous position- if he couldn't retrieve his blade then he would draw two, long-bladed daggers and would use those until the Minotaur that stubbornly held onto his shortsword perished.
It was eerie just how skilled the boy was, every single strike, evasion, and parry was something that reminded him of the glass-faced grandfather clock that Loki-sama had in her office; when the enemy 'ticked' the boy 'tocked'. It was mechanical and fluid in a way that was similar to Aiz Wallenstein but yet different- they both danced, but the songs were different, and no less disconcordant. It wasn't like watching the Captain fight- Finn-sama always made everything seem smooth and graceful, like watching a well-orchestrated play whether he was fighting or conducting the fighting.
The boy, Bell Cranel, though he introduced himself as 'Bell Winters', only paused in between fights to heal himself and recover his breath. As soon as his chanting was finished he was tossing his staff back to his two companions- a Pallum girl no older than himself, and a cheinthrope girl that was just a few years older that Raul knew to be Naaza-chan; she was one of Miach-sama's Children, and the God had no problems boasting about her to Loki-sama whenever the two met for lunch to discuss business.
Which was uncharacteristic of Miach-sama because the man was always quite reserved.
If she had been training with this Bell Winters and was improving at an even a lesser rate, then that just might be what was needed to get the humble God to puff out his chest in pride at his Child's progress and accomplishments.
"Magician's Wonder." "Forest Breeze." "Total Body."
Three spells. The boy knew three spells and he used them whenever he had the opportunity, with a frequency that astounded even his elvish companion Alicia; when she commented on someone without the Mage Developmental Ability using Magic with such ease, the Pallum girl chided her.
"Bell-sama isn't a prodigy of any kind. He is a hard worker, that is all. He practices every night for three hours before going to bed, often suffering the Ignis Faatus on his person so that he doesn't damage his staff."
The cheinthrope Naaza nodded. "Please, don't cheapen his efforts."
How many Minotaurs had the boy slain so far? 20? 30?
It was hard to keep track of them all as their bodies were often dissolving to ash by the time the two groups caught up while leaving enough distance between themselves to not interfere and draw attention away from him. One of his Shadowsteel daggers broke, and the other one soon followed after it. His backup knife, a standard High-Steel knife barely 5-inches in length slew three more Minotaurs before it too broke, and that left Bell Cranel with just his shortsword.
The pathing the boy chose circled through every single passageway on the 17th floor, and while there were three paths to the Goliath chamber and the Wall of Despair, he didn't choose a direct route, instead, he snaked his way through every corridor to make sure that not a single Minotaur survived his purge.
How long had it been since they started watching? Raul didn't know- he would have to ask Narvi after; his fellow human had a pretty accurate inner clock. Not that it really mattered though- they were going to be behind on this dive anyway, but since Aiz was more than willing to waste her own fighting time to watch the boy… then Loki-sama wouldn't complain. Too much.
He hoped.
The passageway to the Goliath was just up ahead, and so were the last few Minotaurs standing in their way. They were a pack of four, and despite the boy's beat-up appearance- his armor in tatters, blood oozing slowly from his head as the Low-Quality potion he just imbibed did its best to stem the flow.
His shortsword was in tatters, with more chips and cracks running along its length than actual blade, but still, somehow, it held on- much like the boy was holding on.
The boy stepped forward, and the Minotaurs stepped away.
It was a surreal moment, to see monsters display survival instincts- he knew they had them because they ran away whenever the Executives strolled into the Dungeon, but to see them display such a thing with a Level 2 that was not even a teenager was something else entirely.
He charged, and while three charged in return, the final one fled, and Bell Cranel cut them down with none of the precision that he had started with- he was barely able to remain standing. His movements were sloppy but powerful, and they got the job done. The shortsword pierced a throat before the blade was yanked out sideways, showering the floor in a spray of arterial blood; the Minotaur collapsed and faded into ash. The second and third monsters followed not soon after.
The boy was off chasing down the Minotaur, and honestly, Raul didn't know where it was going to go- the Goliath had a penchant for slaying monsters that wandered into its domain just as readily as it did Adventurers.
"The Goliath isn't there," Anakitty murmured as they jogged after them, "The Freya familia killed it a week ago on their way back up. So what does this one think it's going to accomplish?"
"Maybe it thinks it can make it to Under Resort and disappear into the forest?" Alicia posited with a hum.
"Doesn't matter," Cruz grunted as they slowed their jog down to a walk, his eyes narrowing as they approached the stone passage, "The kid's already got him."
The two parties filtered into the Goliath's chamber and fanned out to watch the proceedings; the Minotaur had gotten almost a third of the way across the massive hallway before the boy caught up to it, his blade flashing out to bite into the back of the monster's knee. The beast let out a pained roar and swung its meaty fist in an attempt to backhand Bell Cranel, and when its fist swung just a little bit high - the monster's bottom knuckle ruffling the boy's white hair- it attempted to follow up with a combination of blows.
A left straight punch that was side-stepped, a right hook that was ducked under, and another left straight that was punished when the boy held up his shortsword and used the force from the blow to cut deeply into the Minotaur's forearm.
Black blood spewed from the wound, spattering the boy's face, but even then he had the wherewithal and the training to dive as far away as possible, scrubbing at his eyes to clear the beast's blood as he did so. The minotaur attempted to capitalize, but the blade flashed out and bit into its thigh, causing it to stumble, and the boy leaped into the air to finish the fight. Red steel sliced towards the monster's neck, but the Minotaur angled its head and the shortsword met hardened horn.
A massive chunk of the horn was chipped away, but the blade had finally absorbed enough punishment- the sword snapped at the hilt and sailed towards the two parties, bouncing and skittering across the stone to rest at Aiz Wallenstein's armored boot. The girl didn't notice, however, her eyes still on the fight.
A strangled cry snapped Raul's eyes back to the fight, and he watched as the boy, caught up in the grasp of the Minotaur's good hand, roared as the beat began constricting. The 'chink' of a blade being unlatched caught everyone's attention, the Hephaestus familia Captain was lowering herself into a stance to dash forward and intervene, but Aiz's hand raised. "Wait."
Raul looked back and saw the boy's hands come down and grip into the beast's thumb before heaving it back and snapping it at the base, and without that holding him in place, the boy spun out of the Minotaur's grasp and snapped two more fingers before diving into the monster's guard and began laying his fists and feet into everything he could.
Raul heard bones break as the small child's hand impacted against the inside of the monster's wounded knee; whether it was just the Minotaur's bones breaking he didn't know, but it folded sideways. The wounded forearm was useless for anything other than keeping it propped up, but a spin-kicked shattered the elbow of that limb; the hardened, segmented steel plating on the boy's leather greaves crumpling with the force of the blow.
A flying heel strike broke the other elbow, and the boy collapsed onto his back just outside of the monster's reach, his chest rising and falling as he gasped for air. Normally being on your back in such a position would be incredibly dangerous near a monster of the Dungeon, but that didn't seem to be the case here because the Minotaur was using its only remaining functional limb to try and edge itself away, its chin digging into the stone to try and make distance. The boy inhaled deeply for about a minute before he hauled himself up to his feet and staggered towards the beast that had managed to chin himself away almost two dozen meters in that time.
"Come on, Big Boy. Time to put an end to this." Bell Cranel grunted as he kicked the beast's knee out and moved towards the bull-like monster's head.
Two hands grasped the base of the broken horn while his boot found purchase on the other. A roar escaped his lips, one echoing from the mouth of the Minotaur as Bell Cranel began applying torque with all of the strength remaining in his tiny body. The strain proved to be too much on the broken horn and it snapped off, but with one hand still on the base he didn't lose much ground; if anything the clean break allowed him to grip onto the other side and he renewed his pull.
"Coooooommmmmeeeeeee ooooooonnnnnnn!" He howled out as the beast's arm weakly slapped at his leg, but the stance didn't falter. In a split second he eased off, which threw the monster off for just a fraction of a moment, and then he reapplied the torque in a solid jerk that finished the beast off- its head-spinning almost all the way around as a resounding -SNAP- echoed throughout the Goliath chamber.
The Smith Prince, the boy, Bell Cranel… stumbled at the loss of resistance as the Minotaur faded to ash immediately, his knees giving out on him. He collapsed onto the stone with a grunt.
"47," Aiz murmured to herself as she bent down to pick up the remains of the boy's blade before walking towards Bell Cranel with his party members.
"Ahhhhh! You almost gave me a heart attack, Bell-kichi!" The half-dwarf cried out as she scratched at the side of her head, "But! Mission accomplished, right? If that isn't your Level 3, then I don't know what would give it to you!"
"Hmmm. Good job, Bell-kun."
"Yup! Good job, Bell-sama!"
Raul didn't walk over and join in the festivities, because if anything it turned his stomach- the firm expression on Aiz Wallenstein's face as she handed over the broken blade and returned to their party did not bode well for them at all.
"Wow. What a kid." Narvi interlaced her fingers behind her head as she spoke.
"We need to fucking try harder." Cruz ground out as they walked down the tunnel to the Under Resort. "I am not about to let myself be outdone by a fucking kid."
Raul sighed as he watched Aiz take the lead of their little training expedition and took off in a jog. "A little late for that, isn't it?"
Spoiler: Bell Winters - Level 3
Bell Winters (Cranel)
Level 2 - Level 3
Strength: 871 A - 999 S - 0 I
Endurance: 883 A - 999 S - 0 I
Dexterity: 913 S - 999 S - 0 I
Agility: 892 A - 999 S - 0 I
Magic: 670 C - 999 S - 0 I
Developmental Ability:
- Blacksmith I - H: Gain improved blacksmithing skills with small increases to the durability of all crafted items. Gain the ability to forge weapons, armor, and items from Monster Drop Items. Gain the ability to imbue additional strength, durability, and other effects from Monster Drop Items into weapons, armor, and items.
- Mage I: Gain improved Mind total, Mind Control, Spell Efficacy, and Spell Efficiency through the manifestation of a localized spell circle when casting a spell or an ability that consumes Mind.
Skills:
- "Lead the Way": Pathfinding, navigation, hunting, and tracking are much easier for you, and you gain a small bonus to Strength, Dexterity, and Agility when wielding ranged weaponry.
- "Pathfinder's Determination" : Increases the effects of Skills and Developmental Abilities when focused on a single goal.
" Mage, huh? Why that one?" Tsubaki asked me as she sat me between her legs on her favorite bean bag chair in the common area that we'd taken over after our quarterly Status Updates; our Goddess wanted to revel with us, but unfortunately, she had a Divine's only gala to attend and needed to get her paperwork finished before she could get ready.
"Well, it's because I'm trying to get the Mystery Developmental Ability, and I think that being both skilled with Magic and having the Mage Developmental Ability is a prerequisite; with my Blacksmithing I shouldn't need to take Metalworking to unlock it." I popped a bit of celebratory chocolate into my mouth and just enjoyed the feeling of Tsubaki's warm hands pampering me. Lili was off doing her chores and Naaza was back with her God; she was talking about taking her Rank-Up now, even if she didn't have her stats maxed. I did my best to try and dissuade her of course, but seeing me finally blow through the entirety of the 17th Floor along with my climactic fight against the last Minotaur lit a fire within her belly.
I felt bad because I ended up playing up the difficulty of that last fight just a tad- I had enough strength in me to crush the Minotaur's head in with my boot, but snapping the damn thing's neck was far more cathartic. It totally wasn't because Aiz Wallenstein was watching me and I wanted to attract the kuudere's attention for possible waifuing outside of my smithing abilities.
Upon finalizing my High-Quality Excelia, I had many options for my Developmental Ability: Ranger, Mage, Metalworking, Abnormal Resist, Swordsman, and Fist Fighter .
I don't know if the Fist Fighter was because of all of the monsters I had killed barehanded in an effort to improve the difficulty while I was partying with Lili and Naaza down to the 13th Floor or whether it was the last fight with the Minotaur, but while it sounded pretty cool I would much rather fight with a blade than my hands; a lot of monsters had ludicrous hide durability that was often only overcome by a blade of some kind, and my wrists already screamed at me with the amount of punishment they sustained every day using a sword and knives. Breaking my knuckles was one of the few injuries I'd yet to experience in this world, and I'd like to keep it that way if at all possible.
If I picked up Swordsman at all, it would have to be a late-game pick up- something to give me an edge in an 11th hour Rank Up, while Abnormal Resist could be overcome with the proper potions and working in a party, and Ranger was superfluous with my Lead the Way skill. Just like Metalworking, although Tsubaki assured me that smithing with Metalworking made things so, so much easier- the few smiths that had it could churn out weapons at an incredible rate, although they ran through Mind potions to keep it going. With my exercised Magic stat and superior Mind control compared to them, I could probably churn out a dozen or more swords in a single day if I was inclined to pick it up.
Which I wasn't.
I had been waiting for the Mage Developmental Ability since I woke up in this world and got my falna- having a blanket improvement to Mind capacity, Mind control, spell efficacy, spell control, and spell efficiency was just too damn good to pass up! My buffing spells buff harder, my healing spells are going to heal better and provide improved stamina regeneration, and just maybe my Storm Circle will be potent enough to kill enemies outright and improve the effects of the paralysis towards stronger monsters. According to the information Lenoa was willing to sell me, Mage was also a requirement in learning the Concurrent Chanting skill, and I fucking wanted that skill. So fucking badly.
Not to mention I think it is a requirement for gaining the Mystery Developmental Ability.
I leaned back against Tsubaki's wonderfully squishy breasts and grinned. "Besides, I think I'm the first blacksmith in the familia to have the Mage DA, right? A familia first, to be sure!"
My senpai chuckled and scrubbed at my head before releasing me from her embrace and popping up to her feet, leaving me to tumble back into the hole that she left in the beanbag chair. "Well, I'mma run to my forge, watching all of that was nerve-wracking as hell, Bell-kichi, but it sure got me fired up! You kids have fun!"
Kids?
Naaza and a freshly bathed Liliruca came around the corner and took the opportunity to fill the remaining space on the beanbag chair, the small Pallum girl filling in my left side while the cheinthrope girl filled in the right side. Lili just sighed and squirmed until she got comfortable with her head on my chest, and when Naaza got comfortable she pulled my head into the crook of her arm; my cheek being squished against her budding breast.
Instead of ruminating on that, I decided to focus on her pleased yet always sleepy expression; she had her bangs pulled into thin strands with blue beads. I spoke as I wrapped an arm around Lili's waist and pulled her tight against me; kids liked to be held, right? "The beads?"
She blinked slowly and her perpetual pout turned into a blinding smile. "I got all of my stats to 999-S except for Magic, and I took the Rank Up. My mother bought me these beads to celebrate and Miach-sama put them in my hair. It's a family tradition- she got her beads from Miach-sama when she Ranked Up to Level 2 as well."
I smiled and reached around with my right hand and snaked it up her back so that I could scratch at the base of her floppy ears, the sound of beans being lightly thwacked filled the common area as her tail made her joy known to the world. "I'm very happy for you, Naaza-chan. I know how hard you worked for your Level 2, and I bet you feel amazing don't you?"
"Mmmhhhmmmm…" The girl hummed and she nestled into the chair to get comfortable before her lips parted in a yawn, a yawn that forced me to yawn as well. Sympathetic yawns were funny like that. After a few minutes she was nodding off and Lili had fallen out almost the moment she set her head down on my chest.
I was… stuck.
Well, nothing for it, it wasn't like I was going to do anything else except sit down with some of my senpais and talk about what materials I should make my next blade out of- Herd Culler died, unfortunately, but there was nothing to do for it except reforge the blade entirely so that I could have it mounted. I'd do the same for Last Laugh as well- my Goddess might have commandeered the original for the Hall of Memories, but I wanted to have my own little Weapon Wall as well. I really wanted my future children to see what their old man was using in the Dungeon.
To leave a tangible Legacy that they could put their hands on. Even if I perished for whatever reason, they'd still have a piece of me that they could carry with them on their own journies, and for me? That would be enough.
[Hephaestus - Goddess of the Forge]
The Goddess of the Forge had checked herself over one last time in the mirror and stepped out of her room and strode down the Hall of Memories towards the waiting room outside of her office. The slippers she wore made nary a sound on the hardwood, and she was glad that she had decided against the heels because if she had worn them then she would have likely missed out on one of the cutest sights she'd seen in a very long time.
Helena was one of the retired smiths that had opted to continue her service to the familia by taking up a clerks position in the finance office, and when she wasn't counting valis and depositing them into the familia vault, she fancied herself an artist when she had the chance. The old dwarf's snow-white eyebrows quirked up as she looked up from her sketchpad at her Goddess, a wry smile on her lips.
Her study for this particular piece? Well, it was the three children passed out on the beanbag chair that Tsubaki-chan liked to use; her young Smith Prince in the middle of the puppy pile with little Liliruca-chan splayed out on his lower half with her head on his chest, and Naaza-chan from Miach-dono's familia was doing her best to curl around his upper torso. The young cheinthrope-teen cradling the boy's head to her budding bosom.
Hephaestus' lone eye crinkled as she motioned for Helena to bring the finished work to her office so that she could use her transcription spell on it to make as many photocopies of the drawing as they could stuff around in various nooks around the familia compound; this was going to be prime material to whip out whenever she could years down the road when all of them were good and grown.
The old dwarf smirked back and nodded as her charcoal pencil resumed its feather-light scratching on the pad.
Maybe she should send a copy to Zeus? Yes, his familia portrait, along with his Level 2 and soon-to-be Level 3 portraits should do nicely; maybe she should send along two copies? Skadi-dono and Lupo-dono seemed to know the tribes in which his betrothed belonged, maybe they would like some as well?
[Bell Winters]
There had rumors of two Level 3 Amazons taking on all challengers at a small bed-and-breakfast called 'The Wayfarer's Inn' on 4th and 7th. With the Tower of Babel acting as the city's center, the main avenues were numbered from one to eight, leading one to believe that it had a layout like the spokes of a wagon wheel. However, it was more laid out like a spider's web, as each Avenue had fifty numbered streets that connected them through each 1/8th segment of the city. There were more unnumbered side streets and alleyways, but the chances of having to go down through those to find anything I needed was slim to none.
Spoiler: Orario
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[img: https/static.wikia./dungeon-ni-deai-o-motomeru/images/d/da/Orario_Map.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/1000?cb=20211118031945]
The Hephaestus familia's primary Forge District was a trapezoidal block on 3rd Avenue that ran from 20th street all the way to 30th street; dozens of large warehouses held the stock to feed the 81 forges that supplied the city with weapons, armor, and other everyday items.
I took the 25th street entrance from the forge district, took a right onto 3rd Avenue, and then moved my way down towards 7th street where I took a left and towards the 'Wayfarer Inn'. I took the opportunity to keep an eye out at the various shops and stalls that dotted the streets; I was going to need to buy some new clothes soon, as my current sets were getting tight. Considering how loose I kept my casualwear that was saying something.
The closer I drew I double-checked my potion holster and my knife- only a fool went into Orario unarmed, and only a stupider fool showed up to a fight with two Amazons who had literally been raised from birth in an Amazonian pit-fighting arena where every fight was to the death. Tione had been forced to kill the older woman who practically raised her, and Tiona killed all of the other children who were in their "room" so that Tione wouldn't have to kill anyone she knew ever again.
They coped differently with it from my memories- one learned to read and had her "tutor" read to her stories about ancient heroes, and despite the hardships she faced and she still forced herself to smile and laugh; it was a 'fake it until you make it' sort of deal, with some 'I'm smiling for all of those other children whom I killed, because now that they're dead they don't get to smile anymore'. Meanwhile, Tione bottled all of those feelings up and buried them deep inside until their past came back to greet them.
That lead to Tione having a pretty heaping helping of resentment towards Tiona that came to a head during the Kali fiasco in Melen because how could Tiona still smile and laugh and live after everything they had been through?
Why had they lived when the others had died?
Why did they get to just… walk away from it all when everyone else was buried six feet under?
Those sorts of thoughts sat in the back of Tione's mind for years, slowly eating away at her until- for a brief moment- she despised her sister just as much as she did Kali and the Khalif sisters, at least until the air was cleared between them in true shounen fashion by pummeling each other with their fists.
I was hoping that just maybe I could act as a pressure relief valve for these two while maybe snagging myself two beautiful Amazon waifus. It was maybe self-indulgent of me, and a bit of a stretch, but my four wolfy-waifus were all for a large 'pack' surrounding a strong man, and Amazons had no problem sharing strong men as well; as for Aiz, Naaza, and Lili? Well, if they weren't on board for the harem life, then so be it. I already felt like I was reaching the limits of what one man could reasonably be expected to care for, even if my wolfy-waifus were incredibly self-sufficient and raised in a lifestyle where the man wasn't expected to wait on his wives hand and foot.
The sounds of fighting had reached my ears well before the sights of it, and when I rounded the curve of the street I was greeted with the sight of two teenage Amazons pummeling a large group of about twenty Adventurers like they were a bunch of children.
With an easy smile on my face, I checked the tightness of my suspenders and stuffed my hands in my pockets, and strode towards the fighting without a care in the world.
Deep inside though my inner geek was freaking out because this was clearly an incredible shounen "A NEW CHALLENGER APPROACHES" moment.
Oh, Goddess Hephaestus, my sweet Goddess of the Forge, please, tell me when you update my status in a quarter if this looks totally fucking cool or not- I didn't think to grab anyone else, and now I was regretting it, because who is supposed to spread the bad-assitude that was about to happen to the rest of the familia!?
Man, I really hope this isn't cringe. YOLO!
[Tione Hiryute]
"That's the last of them!" Tione watched as her sister in all but blood hefted a werewolf above her head, the man struggled weakly in her grasp but he was so delirious that he couldn't put forth much effort.
"This is the best that they can offer?" Tione huffed and placed her hands on her hips, "Sort of pathetic."
If the Amazon was being honest, this fight had been a little exhilarating- when was the last time she had gotten to fight without being forced to slay her every opponent? Sure, they'd had a few challengers on the roads on their journey to Orario, but those had been bandits, and even a pit-born Amazon knew that bandits who preyed on the populace deserved little mercy; they would be executed anyways for their crimes, so they might as well do the deed themselves.
"Now, now. That's pretty harsh, don't you think?" A young voice spoke out behind them, and Tiona squealed, her sister spinning around and chucking the dazed werewolf in her grasp at the interloper.
Tione shifted her head and watched the werewolf sail through the air, and the target reached out and caught the back of the man's shirt and the waistband of his pants; the boy spun slowly with the toss to bleed out the momentum. The "elder" sister felt her eyebrow rise up as the speaker was revealed to be a boy a few years younger than themselves; the child cradled the werewolf man over his knee and tilted the man's head to the side so he could vomit on the street.
The boy sighed and lifted the man up in a bridal carry and walked towards the sisters before he sat him down on the street and began to gather all of their fallen opponents, putting them into a cluster. "It's not good to throw a man who has a concussion; injuries to the brain should be handled with more care. Help me get the rest of them into place around me; I'm a Support Mage and healer."
"Ooooohhhhh~, Magic! Healing magic!" Tiona squawked as she hopped on her toes a few times before rushing around to carefully gather their opponents and began arranging them in a tightly packed circle around the boy. "Show me, show me, show me!"
Tione used the opportunity to get a better look at the younger boy while her sister pranced around and gathered the others. He wore black breeches that hugged his legs and ended mid-calf, the white stockings shown on his lower legs probably ended just under his knees. Brown boots only went up to his ankles and were laced together with black string. A short-sleeved white button-up covered his torso while black suspenders held up his pants; she was quite surprised to see how muscular- and vascular- his forearms were. Rough callouses covered his hands but they were by no means unpleasant to look at.
His stark white hair stood in contrast to his ruby-red eyes and lightly tanned skin, and the youthfulness of his face, when compared to his muscular body, was almost uncanny. Jarring and odd, but not unpalatable.
This boy wasn't like the others they'd seen coming into the city- he was an Adventurer for certain.
"My aura is the aura that solidifies the bonds around me."
"Magic begets Magic."
"Magic strengthens Magic."
"A pact as old as time is once again revealed to the world."
"Let all who cast here find their Magics brought to the peak!"
"Magician's Wonder."
Tione felt a slight chill slide over her flesh as a Magic circle formed under the boy's feet, and when the spell was cast, the area surrounding him for four meters became inundated with a soft glow- a purplish, hazy mirage forming in the circle.
Tiona was bouncing in place now with her fists pushing against her cheeks. "Did that do anything? It didn't look like you healed them!"
The boy chuckled and shook his head. "No, this is a preparation spell, one that improves the strength of all spells cast within its boundaries. Some of these wounds are a little bit more serious than my normal healing spell can handle, but if I combine this spell along with my Mage Developmental Ability, then I should have just enough power and range to heal everyone here. I didn't bring my focus with me, so it will take me a moment. So just relax and enjoy the light show."
Her sister giggled, and Tione used the time to look around and scan the small crowd that had gathered.
"All hail the spirits of the forest,"
"The keepers of the mountains,"
"The carpet of the earth,"
"Let the unfortunate feel the relief of your healing breath,"
"Let the cuts be mended, the bruises be healed,"
"O' great spirits of the forest, come to me,"
"Let the sintered bone be splint, let the blood be returned,"
"Rejoice in this harmony, for the whispers of Gaia shall bring thee peace,"
"Forest Breeze."
The wind seemed to shift as he finished his chant, and the air ruffled his hair as a circle of verdant green light sprang up from the spell circle beneath him- its borders expanding almost two meters in every direction. Tione's sister gasped in awe and began clapping as the visible bruises on their foes faded, their cuts were mended shut, and even their broken fingers righted themselves with a chorus of snapping pops.
One by one the men began to wake up, scrambling to their feet in a daze as they frantically looked around- their eyes widen and their bodies ready for action. The boy clapped his hands to get their attention when they all turned on the sisters. "Hey, you guys lost. I healed you, free of charge, so if you would please, those of you who can move… collect your companions and return to your familia. Also, this man still will have a slight concussion, so do please be careful in handling him, okay?"
The boy pointed towards the werewolf resting against his leg before picking him up and offering him to the closest man; "My Mage DA and the improvements of my spell circle boosted my healing spell by quite a bit, but a head wound such as this is beyond its ability to heal completely- though it should have reduced the swelling in his brain considerably."
"The Smith Prince?" One of the gobsmacked men muttered to himself before he bowed slightly and took his companion from the boy; the squat dwarf gingerly settling the man across his back, "Thank you for your healing, laddie. You thinking about trying your luck with these two?"
The boy smiled and nodded his head before his hands slipped back into his pockets. "I think I'd like a chance to test myself against them, yes. Although I don't know if they'd be happy in my familia; I can already tell just by looking at them they seem like a pretty free-spirited pair. Swinging weapons instead of making weapons; that fits their style more, no?"
"Ha!" The dwarf laughed out, and immediately lowered his volume when he realized that his mouth was right next to the werewolf's ears, "'S probably the case with these two, good luck boy. Have fun."
It took less than a minute for the men to clear out, the twenty of them picking up their companions and walking off, a sight better now that they weren't all bruised to hell and back; not that Tiona or herself hit them particularly hard- they were a motley collection of Level 1s and 2s at best.
No match for Level 3s like themselves.
Tione tilted her head back and looked down her nose at the boy, and she was just about to speak when the boy's head turned to look at a quartet that had just arrived on scene. "Apologies, Loki familia, but I hope you don't mind if I take my turn first? I did arrive here before you after all."
The flatty goddess looked like she was trying to chew leather. "You shrimpy brat! You always try to mess with me, no matter where I go!"
The boy was young, yes, but he was hardly a 'shrimp'; if anything he was taller than the Pallum man with the long spear who was weakly trying to restrain his irate Divine.
Yes, the Pallum was feeble. The High Elf there looked as haughty as could be. The dwarf was stroking his beard, crumbs falling from within its hairs as he gave them a critical eye. Feeble, Haughty, and Dirty .
The boy was far more pleasant to look at, even if he was young; Tione hadn't seen much magic since she left Telskyura, but the little she did see had the mages holding onto sticks and took forever to cast their spells. The boy cast two spells in just under a minute without a… 'focus' was it?
"Your magic was quite impressive, Smith Prince," The elf spoke, and Tione resisted the reflex to roll her eyes, Goddess, she even sounded haughty! "Especially without using a focus. I did notice the spell circle; you just Ranked Up recently and took Mage?"
The boy crossed his arms over his chest and smiled, "How astute, Riveria-ohime-sama. Yes, I ranked up yesterday, and I chose to take Mage as it is quite the force multiplier for my style of casting. I'm self-taught, so flashy destructive magics like yours are outside of my reach, so I'm building up through progressively more complex Support and Healing magics- hopefully one day my control will be good enough so that I don't blow myself or my focus up when I finally obtain a wide-area destruction spell."
The elf's placid smile morphed into one of interest, and Tione felt her hackles rise. Since when did she and her sister become the sideshow?!
Tiona just gasped. "Oh my gosh! Is she really a Princess? And are you really a Prince!?"
The elf blinked and made to speak, but the boy shot the elf woman a smirk. "Why of course! You, my dear, stand in the presence of Riveria Ljos Alf, First of Her Name, Crown Princess to the Elven Kingdoms, and soon to be Empress of the High Elf Empire."
Tiona covered her mouth with her hands and began to wriggle and squirm as the boy spoke. He bowed low to the supposed Elf Princess with a genial smile and an eloquent bow just like she'd seen in her sister's picture books; after holding the bow for a few seconds he righted himself and placed his hand to his chest and continued. "Unfortunately, I am a Prince to no one, my alias is naught but a moniker- I am but a humble smith of no important lineage. I am a hunter, a smith, and a homegrown, self-taught Mage. So I do apologize that I can't be your Prince, my Lady Tiona."
It was interesting to note that the Goddess' eyes cracked open as the boy spoke, and her disgusted frown became just a touch more… thoughtful?
The girl blushed and covered her eyes with her hands. "Oh, gosh! Tione, what do I do?!"
"Oh, barf!" Nope, the Goddess' disgusted frown was back in full force, "Spare me the theatrics, you shrimpy little snow-white bunny bast-"
"Just hit him, Tiona! He said he wants to fight, so let's fight and get this over with already!" Tione ground out, her foot stomping hard enough to crack the cobblestone beneath, "Our food has likely gotten cold already."
That seemed to pull her sister out of her delusional spiral and the younger Amazon smacked her fist into her palm. "Okay, nee-chan! You better be ready, Smith Prince, I won't go easy on you just because you're cute, okay?"
The boy uncrossed his arms and moved into the center of the street with an easy smile. "Likewise, Princess Tiona of Telskyura. So, submission, unconsciousness, or pin? Three seconds, both shoulders on the ground?"
"Sounds great to me! Hee hee!" The boy reached down and removed his belt, the knife attached to it along with some sort of hardened leather pouch coming off. The boy motioned towards the crusty dwarf, and the man nodded before holding his hand out; the belt landed in his outstretched palm and he began inspecting it closely.
"Seeing as I already know your names, it is only fair that I tell you mine as well." The boy settled into an easy stance, his hands coming up to defend the sides of his face, "My name is Bell Cranel, but I would prefer it if you called me Bell Winters. I am a blacksmith of the Hephaestus familia- it is a pleasure to meet you."
"Alright, now let's-!" Tione felt her ire grow as her sister halted and placed a finger to her lip, "Wait, how do you know of us? I don't think my sister and I have said who we were?"
The boy's face morphed into a knowing, infuriating smirk. "Would you believe me if I said I saw you both in my dreams?"
"Oh! Oh gosh!" Her sister began swooning, "Nee-chan! I can't handle this! It's too much!"
"Just fight already before I lose my lunch! I'm dying over here!" The irate Goddess spat out while muttering a few more uncharitable things about the white-haired boy.
"Oooooookkkkkkaaaayyyyyyyyy! Hee hee! Here I come!"
Tiona shot forward, closing the few meter's worth of distance between them in the blink of an eye, her fist lashing out towards the boy's face. It was fast, fast enough that Tione herself would be hard-pressed to react to it, but the boy grinned and tilted his head to the side and let it whistle past his ear. A punch, followed by a straight kick, into a quick combination- the boy dodged them all with a massive grin on his face.
"Wow, Level 3 sure is something! There was no way I could have kept up with you yesterday." He ducked under her right cross and delivered a rabbit punch to her sister's liver that sent her stumbling back with a grunt.
Tiona stood there, shocked for a moment as her hand came down and palmed over where she had been struck. "Ow! I mean, that hurt, but it didn't hurt that much! Did you hit me as hard as you could?"
The boy blinked before he shook his head. "Why would I want to hurt you? We're just having a little spar, a little fun, right? It's not like we're fighting for a prize or anything, right?"
Tione felt herself twitch. What was this brat going on about!? They were the prize! For the last two days since they arrived everyone has been coming to challenge them, and if they could be defeated then they would join the familia of whoever could best them!
She clenched her fists and forced herself to calm down. If he somehow managed to defeat her sister, then Tione would make him take this seriously.
"Woah! You sure do got that right! Everyone tries to make this out to be far more important than it actually is- I'm glad someone is-!"
"Tiona!"
"Alright, alright, fine." Tione watched her sister huff and puff out her cheeks before settling back down into her stance. "Well, let's make this a fun bout, Usagi-kun!"
"Always with the rabbit comparisons!" He grunted under his breath before he shot forward, his fist lashing out toward Tiona's face.
Fist met palm, and a clap echoed down the street as the wind buffeted the area where their hands met. Much to her surprise, the Amazon felt her heart start to beat a little bit faster as she watched her sister and the white-haired boy fight.
Tiona was a few inches taller than him on account of their age difference and had the longer reach, but that didn't seem to help her out any as the boy was just as nimble as his begrudging namesake; Bell Cranel slipped around her strikes with a technical precision that she had not seen before. Her sister's spirited strikes were deflected and countered when he couldn't dodge them entirely, but he didn't shy away from hitting her back- if anything he seemed to be trying to end the fight with painful and debilitating blows that were otherwise not lethal in nature.
"Wow! You really do know how to fight, Usagi- hrk !" Another liver punch landed, and this one was strong enough to lift Tiona off of her feet and send her skidding down the street. Not that it kept her sister down, as she was flying right back towards him with a broad grin on her face and her fist cocked back.
They exchanged a few more strikes, but the boy managed to grapple onto Tiona's arms and he threw her over his hip hard enough to crater the street, and he slipped down to follow her- his knee pressing onto her chest while his hands gripped her wrists; Tione felt her eyes widen slightly as she watched the boy's lips move while her sister tried to regain control over her arms.
"-two, three!" The boy spoke as he swiftly moved off of the girl and held out his hand. "The pin was clean, so I do believe that this is my win, no?"
The Amazon watched her sister blink a few times before she wriggled on the ground and realized that both of her shoulders had indeed been pinned. Tiona began to laugh boisterously, and Tione felt her anger surge from deep within her gut. "I guess that is my loss, huh? Sort of forgot that was a condition, yanno? Ha! Great fight, Usagi-kun!"
"Take this seriously, Tiona!" Tione ground out through her teeth, "This isn't a game! We're basing our familia off of whoever defeats us- if this soft boy isn't willing to try his best then we're better off fighting Haughty, Dirty, and Tiny over there!"
The boy frowned as he pulled Tiona out of the small crater he made on the street and ushered her off to the side. "You think that I'm weak?"
"Pulling your strikes, adding on a pin as a win condition!" Tione popped her neck and strode into the street, "If that isn't weakness then I don't know what is. If you don't take me seriously, then you'll get hurt."
Bell Cranel's posture shifted minutely. "They really hurt you a lot, didn't they?"
Her breathing stopped for a moment as images from her life flashed before her eyes- the blood, the broken bones, the barehanded monster fights, the killing of her sisters- everything flashed to the fore and a scream of rage tore from her lips. "WHAT DO YOU KNOW!?"
"Probably more than you'd like, Tione Hiryute." His voice was soft, pitying , and it sent her over the edge as her vision went red.
She shot forward with every ounce of strength her body had, cratering the ground beneath her feet, and he just barely managed to squeak past her first punch- her knuckles brushed his nose. The second strike wasn't so easily dodged, and her knee met his floating ribs, sending the boy careening down the street; the cobblestone cracking each time his body impacted the road.
He managed to correct his trajectory by spreading his limbs and he slid along the road with his hands and feet; reminding the Amazon of a cat. He coughed and stood up while shaking his hands out- the pads of his fingers were bright red and bleeding from the friction. "Not… gonna… lie. You… caught me… off guard there…"
He took a deep breath and settled himself before he took off in a sprint towards her that was a fair bit slower than he'd displayed previously, but Tione wasn't content to just sit back and let him come to her; no, this boy had run his mouth off about things he didn't know the first thing about. She wouldn't kill him, but he would wish that she had.
Tione's fist shot out, and it was deflected off to the side by a sweep of his wrist, and his own hand impacted her diaphragm; the air left her lungs while lifting her off of the ground a few inches. A quick combination impacted her face and floating ribs before she managed to recover and put her guard up, and she backpedaled, letting her forearms take the next few blows so that she could breathe again. The boy was a lot stronger than he let on!
A right hook glanced off her forearm and she took the opportunity to retaliate, her fist chambering before punching out towards his collarbone; much to her surprise he leaned back quickly enough to take the majority of the force out of the strike, and while it looked like he'd lost his balance, the tip of his foot hooked around the back of her leg and he tugged her forward. His hand lashed out and caught her chin before his foot planted itself in her gut and she found herself rolling through the air; the sky and ground spinning wildly as she flew.
The impact she felt wasn't enough to be more than uncomfortable, as he didn't throw her that hard, but it was more disorienting than anything. She regained her feet and the boy began to speak. "You must have had it pretty rough, huh? I'd imagine that place was a hell-hole worse than the Dungeon."
Shut up. She charged forwards, her fists seeking his face- if only to get him to stop running his mouth.
"Forced to fight and kill lest you be killed yourself. How disgusting they were to force such a thing on you and your sister."
Shut up! Her blows became more powerful than before, but that seemed to work against her as they became more telegraphed, and the boy managed to slip in and around her; his voice taunting her the entire time.
"Such a thing shouldn't happen in this world, but it did. However, you escaped that, right? You made it out of there on your own power, didn't you!?"
SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP! Her fist impacted his ribs and she felt them crack, but his return blow smacked the outside of her leg and sent a thrill of agony up her thigh.
"You-* hack* - escaped! Your darkest days are behind you now, aren't they!? Why are you continuing to look back when you should be looking towards the horizon!"
A kick flashed out and while he caught it with both of his arms, the top of her foot still impacted the side of his head, sending him off of his feet and tumbling down the street. She didn't let up, the Amazon following him- her fist lanced out towards his face, but he shifted his head at the last second; her hand cratering the stone foundation of the building. His foot lashed out and impacted her knee, locking it back and forcing her to stumble away, and this gave him enough space to stand up and dash in; the punch landing on her jaw hard enough to make lights flash in her vision.
He spat onto the street, a few teeth tumbling to the cobblestone. "You're holding yourself back, you're weakening yourself by trying to hold onto the past. You're focusing on what was instead of focusing on the important things."
Tione steadied herself before shooting forward her hands forming claws that reached out to tear this little bastard's flesh. "And what would you know about these important things!?"
He dipped his head back and to the side, his fist lashing out and impacting the inside of her elbow, sending a jolt of white-hot pain up her arm, but her second swipe caught him across the chest; four angry red lines welled up with blood as her nails tore into the flesh of his chest. "I know that you're alive! I know that you've got your sister beside you! Isn't that important enough!?"
A straight kick impact the inside of her left thigh, stumbling her, and he hopped slightly to adjust his lower body to lash out with another kick that managed to check, but his foot still connected with her calf. When her leg came down to the street it locked up momentarily, and he capitalized on it with yet another kick to the outside of her leg again- the top of his foot smashing into the already bruising flesh of her thigh. A cry escaped her lips as tears reflexively invaded her vision, but she was used to pain- even this amount was nothing.
Not compared to the beatings regularly bestowed upon her.
Spoiler: What she is used to
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She regained herself and charged in; he still wasn't fighting her seriously! He was still trying to lecture her over things he knew nothing about! "You know nothing about me!"
A roar escaped her lips as she lashed out with her claws, two fringers managed to catch his forearm, and the flesh parted, sending blood onto the street. Her foot impacted his belly, doubling him over and sending him right back into the foundation of the building. Vomit was forcefully ejected from his throat, but he still got back up and charged back in; none of the precision that he had displayed with Tiona was there- no, he was angry.
"Well if you feel that way, then why don't you tell me what is important!?" He took a claw to the face and retaliated with his fist hitting hers, "Tell me! What makes Tione Hiryute get out of bed in the morning!"
His blows hammered her body, and her strikes cut into his, and he just wouldn't stop fucking talking!
Her fingers speared down and almost penetrated his calf when his shin impacted her ribs, but he managed to rechamber it time to only receive some nasty cuts. Her other clawed hand swiped out for his face again- the Amazon trying her best to give the preaching boy another set of whisker marks on his cheeks so that he could match, but he managed to just barely dodge and- she felt her knuckles pop painfully when his fist impacted the backs of her fingers.
She hissed and leaped back to make space, her good hand coming back to reset her dislocated fingers with a roar of fury. "You're not going to make it in this world if you don't have something to fight for! People like you-!"
He dashed forward and ducked under her fist, and he caught her wrist and tugged her out of balance before his forehead caught her nose- the world sparkled black and white as she felt the cartilage on her nose almost crumple under the strike, but her Endurance kept it from breaking. She had been rocked back on her heels, but his grip on her wrist kept her from falling backward, and he lashed out with a knee that caught her in the belly hard enough for her own bile and lunch to spew onto the cobblestone. "-Will die the moment they encounter a situation- that they believe to be unwinnable- because they don't have anything to live FOR!"
He didn't let her go, however, the boy clamped down even harder, and his forehead struck her cheek, rattling her. Her foot slipped but he didn't let her fall, no, his knee stuck out again, this time aiming a little bit higher- hitting her square in the floating ribs. Only when her legs gave out from the blow entirely did he let her fall, and she immediately curled onto her side and wheezed, the Amazon trying to get her breath back into her.
"Everyone thinks that you need something to believe in, a cause worth killing for, a -haaah- a cause worth dying for." He bent over her body with his hands on his knees as he struggled to get his breath. "But dying? That's easy. Anyone can die, it's effortless."
"What you need to ask yourself, Tione Hiryute, is what is worth living for?"
The Amazon blinked her eyes, trying to force the tears from his strike to her nose away, and when she managed to get enough breath back in her lungs, she exhaled sharply to force the blood out of her nostrils. She tried to move, but her body protested. His strikes hadn't broken her as Argana's had, but they were no less debilitating.
She coughed and her eyes slid over the watching crowd and stopped on her sister who was staring at her in slack-jawed shock, her hands covering her mouth. For the first time in a long time, Tiona Hiryute wasn't smiling anymore. Her happiness and exuberance were gone, like the morning mist in the light of the afternoon sun.
Why?
Why did that hurt so much? For so many years she wanted Tiona to grow up, to take things more seriously. To not treat the world as if it was her personal storybook- her little fairy tale! Now she was finally taking things seriously, and yet from the very depths of Tione's heart, she wished that it wasn't the case.
"What is worth protecting? What is your reason for being? What would you fight for? Be it a person, ideal, or dream?" Bell Cranel stood up straight and a series of cracks echoed across the street as a wince flared up, his hand coming up to his bleeding chest, "If you can't move forward, past the tears, past the pain; then you'll never be able to ask yourself those questions. Then you'll stagnate, and then? Then you'll die."
He raised his hand and the crusty dwarf tossed the pouch, the boy barely catching it, but he managed to hold onto it; the pouch popped open and he pulled out two vials- potions- and tossed one back. He let out a pained breath as snaps crackled throughout his body, a hiss escaping his lips as his wounds closed shut leaving nary a mark behind except the blood on his flesh.
Bell Cranel dropped down to one knee and he reached out, dropping the potion into her hand before closing her fast around it; his hands squeezing her's gently. He looked her right in the eyes and spoke lowly. "And if you think for even a second that you are the only one who was hurting, then you should step back and reevaluate. No doubt your sister- she's important to you, right? No doubt she's hurting too, but she's coping with her pains differently than you are. Maybe, just maybe, if you opened up to her, she could tell you just how exactly she's feeling."
His lip quirked up slightly, "I don't think you need me to tell you this, but family is important, ne?"
She snorted a little bit, but she didn't have it in her to argue. Right now she just wanted to drink this damn potion, and thankfully he released her hand as he stood up.
Tione sighed in relief as the potion coursed through her veins and her pains abated. When she was no longer feeling like she was going to puke up her lungs, the girl looked up and grasped the outstretched hand he offered. "Man, dunno where all of that came from; I'm usually way less preachy. Sort of feel like an idiot now."
He blushed as he released her hand and noticed that his clothes had been shredded by their fight pretty severely, the boy tore off the remains of his shirt and knotted the two torn suspenders together, and turned them into a makeshift belt.
He was… pretty built for a boy. Her belly still sizzled from his words, but he was indeed stronger than her.
Tione's eyes slid back towards her sister, and she felt her anger get doused with relief as she was now smiling again, her cheeks bunching as Tiona's hands interlaced behind her head. "Wow! Great job, Usagi-kun! To think you'd be able to beat up nee-chan like that!"
Tione twitched but didn't reply, and she arched an eyebrow when he offered her a green-colored potion. "It's a stamina potion, I do believe you have another fight?"
He nodded his head towards Crusty, Haughty, and Tiny. She took the potion and downed it quickly, the Amazon feeling strength return to her limbs as the concoction did its work as advertised.
Bell Cranel scratched at his cheek before he bowed towards her. "Well, aside from the impromptu… unsolicited pep-talk… it was very fun. Good luck fighting the Executives of the Loki familia. They're pretty strong, so if you don't give it you all it will be pretty embarrassing."
He righted himself and waved to Tiona, who bounced in place and waved back with both arms. "Bye-bye, Usagi-kun! I'll see you again!"
"See you again, Tiona-chan! Stop by the Hephaestus forge district if you're ever looking for a weapon!" He called out from over his shoulder as he walked away, "I'll see what I can do for you!"
While he slowly walked away, the body cinched his belt back in place, tightening the pouch back onto his thigh, and Tione felt a small frown slip across her lips.
What was important, huh?
She blinked and shook her head as her eyes locked onto the bouncing girl who was currently limbering herself up across from Tiny, the Pallum standing there easily with his hands on his hips. "Alright, let's do this, tiny-man!"
Tione let out a small huff as her sister charged in, her fists and feet flashing. Just why had she gotten so worked up in the first place?
There was a blur as Tiona's form sailed through the air to impact against the inn's wall, her body slipping down it to land on the sign.
The man's face was as smug as can be, and she felt her anger spike.
This tiny little bastard!
[Bell Winters]
Fuck! Fuck! I overdid it, didn't I?
Note to self, never attempting that shit again, my heart just isn't good enough for talk-no-jutsu. I should have just let it be and let them work it out on their own- man, Tione probably thinks I'm such an asshole. Hell, I feel like a giant asshole. Time and place, time and place. Ugggghhhhhhh.
I just want to crawl up into a hole and die. Did half of the shit coming out of my mouth even make any sense? I mean, sure, I feel like I nailed the landing, but the spiel leading up to it felt pretty weaksauce. God, I'm going to be known far and wide as that kid that gives horrible pep talks in front of dozens of people, I just know it!
Please, someone, kill me now. I don't think I can live with the shame. Fuck me. Cringe. God, I'm so cringe. How did Bell make this shit work?
Come on, center yourself man, the best thing to do here is blank this whole day out of my mind and pretend it never happened.
Denial is a powerful tool. I should use it.
I spent the next few hours in the forge, trying to put together a longsword for Tiona- Damascus, double the thickness- nice and weighty. She would at least come, so I should have something ready for her- just hammer all of my embarrassment into the sword. Yes, that's it.
By the time I finished putting the edge on the blade, I heard the door to the forge I was using slide up, letting the waning light of the sun shine in. As I gave it a few practice swings I heard a smarmy voice cut through the air. "So… Bell-kichi ."
No.
The only thing that was audible was the crackling of the coals and the 'shhik, shhik' of Tsubaki's sandals sliding across the stone floor. As she got closer I could hear her low giggles growing louder and louder with each step.
I placed the sword on the workbench and buried my face in my arms. Please. Tsubaki. I'll never make fun of you again. Just let this die. "Hee hee hee."
Two hands came down and gripped the meat of my shoulders at the base of my neck, giving it a firm squeeze. "I just so happened to hear that you got into a little tussle with two cute little Amazon girls over there at the Wayfarer's Inn on 4th and 7th a few hours ago."
"Tsubaki-nee-"
Her fingers clenched and I felt like my head was about to pop off of my neck. "No, no, no, no, no. Nope. Don't 'Tsubaki-nee' me."
I felt the hair of her bangs tickle my shoulders as she leaned down and brought her mouth close to my ear. "I heard things got pretty heated. Maybe something about… a cute little speech? Hmm? Ring any bells, Bell-kichi? "
"It never happened. I am always calm, mature, and composed. I would never vomit at the mouth such words. I'm terrible at improv, you know this. I would never live down the shame if such a thing were to ever have happened." I delivered as deadpan as possible, my cheeks burning fiercely was just a side-effect of working in a hot forge. "It would be social suicide. I'm not suicidal."
" Oh, huu huu huu huu. I don't know, people seemed pretty certain it was you. Loki-sama just hasn't stopped running her gob about the Smith Prince who hand-delivered to her two Level 3 Amazons."
I shook my head in denial. " Lies and slander. You know full well that she doesn't like me. That Goddess wouldn't hesitate to drag my name through the mud. However, hypothetically speaking, if such a thing did happen- which it most certainly didn't - they wouldn't have liked it here anyway; they're more into killing monsters with weapons than making weapons for other people to kill monsters with."
"Oh no, that's not where I'm going with this, at all." Eeeeeeeeeeee! Why are you tightening your fingers!? Tsubaki-nee! No! Tsubaki-sama!
"I'm not angry that you didn't bring those girls into the familia," Her mouth got very, very close to my ear, "I'm angry that I just received invoices from the Guild for over 100,000 valis in damages. Can you see why maaayyybbbeee I'm just a little, teensy bit angry?"
"Shhhhiiiiiiiiitttttt," I hissed out, "I totally forgot about the owners! I was going to pay, Tsubaki-sama! I am going to pay! I just forgot about it after the embarrassing fight that totally didn't happen! Have mercy!"
The hands on my shoulders immediately released me, and a sigh escaped my lips unbidden. I straightened up, but all that did was bare my neck, and the older woman laughed and put me in a rear-naked choke. "That's great! Now, tell me allllllllllllllll about these little Amazon cuties that you were trying to impress! What were they like, huh? Did they put up a real fight? Tell your onee-chan all about it!"
No, please, no more, just snap my neck and be done with it! Tsubaki-sama, please!
The next week in the Dungeon was an awkward affair as Liliruca and Naaza gave me the cold shoulder, complete with upwards nose tilted 'hmpf's and disapproving stares.
God, you'd think I just murdered someone. Give me a break! I could hardly look Hephaestus in the eyes! She just wouldn't stop laughing at me!
The only thing I have going for me right now is that I can just chalk it up to 'boys being boys'. I would have literally committed suppuku if I'd ever done that speech as an adult.
"So, Bell-sama," Lili sniffed pedantically, "Are you going to help us pick up these magic stones? Or are you going to find some other girls to give adorable little speeches to?"
"Oi, lover boy. You've got two guests for you at the front gate." I blink and pulled my face away from my forge, and look up at one of my smithing senpais. It had been three weeks, and I was still getting the third degree from these wise guys.
I sighed and wiped at my face with the cloth hanging off my waist and stretched real quick to pop my spine. "Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up while you can, ya jerks."
I left the steel in the furnace- it would take a few more minutes before it got up to temperature, and without me working the bellows it would stay that way for a good while. Time to see who was waiting for me.
My hand came up to block the sun, but I relished the feeling of its rays on my skin- I felt a hell of a lot better as the breeze rolled down the street and caressed my sweat-soaked form; I was more than a little ripe, but trying to go take a bath while they were waiting for me would be just as rude as making them wait in my opinion. I gave the smiths passing me by some tight smiles and they laughed and joked at my expense- yeah, I wasn't going to be living that down any time soon.
Within a few minutes, the front gate came into view, and I caught sight of the current guard making what looked to be small talk with two very recognizable figures- though they honestly weren't who I was expecting.
Two pairs of pointed ears swiveled in my direction, as did two pairs of golden eyes. They raked over my form, and that was when I became very aware of the fact that I was shirtless with a do-rag on my head. Two pairs of lips pulled up into pleasing smiles as their eyes crinkled, their tails swishing back and forth rapidly in barely restrained joy.
Spoiler: Sooka - "Blackie"
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Spoiler: Khemi - "Browni"
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"Arjuei." "Arjuuni."
[Betrothed.] [Husband.]
Sooka and Khemi, or as I used to call them "Blackie" and "Brownie". Two of my four betrothed from the Beltor and Rimurad tribes; they were the oldest two. I was 12 years old now, so… that put Blackie at 16 and Brownie was 14.
Boy, did they grow up quickly; Sooka had been a gangly thing last I saw her, but now she had filled out her hunting leathers in such a way that no doubt turned heads on the street. Khemi was on track to be the same as her tribe sister if her mother had been any indication. Both were rather womanly already, even if they were still young in my eyes.
"Aksani."
[Wives.]
I smiled back and tilted my head to the side, and the two young women rushed forward and embraced me heartily, their noses dipping down to touch my neck before they bared theirs in turn; I nosed their necks in the traditional greeting of the werewolves.
I was smothered by their hugs and I did my best to wrap my arms around their waists to squeeze them gently; they were unblessed mortals after all, I could easily hurt them if I wasn't careful.
"Oi, kid, you uhh… know these two young ladies?" Durnar looked rather surprised by their enthusiasm, and he stroked his beard.
I blinked as I managed to part the bountiful sea of feminine flesh that had ensconced my head. The girls had quieted down, and instead took the opportunity to give me a few huffs; ah, I forgot that scent was such a big thing for them. I smelled pretty bad, but they seemed to be delighted as could be.
Wait.
This was… an opportunity!
I gave him a small smile, making sure not to make it too smarmy. "Why yes, these are my betrothed; my wives to be when I come of age. Well, two of my four wives to be."
"Whu?" His smile slipped right off of his face. Shock turned to disbelief as he shook his head. "No, no. Impossible. Stop… pulling my leg, lover boy. There's no way."
Ha! Hahahahahahaha! Yes! Yes! Yes! Stew in your own anger and disbelief, you incel! You can marry the forge, I'll marry these four beautiful werewolf women!
I felt my eyes crinkle up as I looped my arms around my betrothed's and slowly started to lead them back towards my forge. As we walked away I heard the door to the guard shack slide open. "He was kidding, wasn't he?"
Blackie and Brownie didn't speak, if only because they didn't like to talk much- they were the quiet sort. Shiro and Kuro on the other hand… well, they were little chatterboxes. Also, don't rag on my nicknames, they love them- Sooka and Khemi were "Blacki and Brownie" due to their fur colorations, and Asami and Kimiko were "Shiro and Kuro" due to their colorations; Asami and Kimiko's father was a hunter from the Far East, and wanted his daughters to bear given names from his heritage. Considering he was the third-best hunter in the Rimurad tribe he had more than earned that small concession from his two wives.
He had been less than pleased to hear that both of his daughters had decided to chase after the same boy, but his wives chided him thoroughly, and he relented. It wasn't as if he could give me the shovel talk considering he was far weaker than I was, that and my mature and respectful disposition- along with the fact that he could actually speak Far Eastern with me when he was the only speaker in the tribe- had him warm up to me over the four seasons that I had spent there.
"So, my dears, not that I'm not pleased to see you again," I spoke as he swept into the warehouse, past the gobsmacked expressions of my senpais, "I take it you came to Orario to do more than just visit?"
I released their arms and moved past the forge to prop open the door near me before I walked around the workbench to grab two stools for them to sit on. "Yes, when we received your letter from your grandfather-"
Wait, what?
"We saw your Rank Up portraits," Soone looked meaningfully at Khemi and they both nodded, "And realized that we were not improving at the tribe."
"Yes," Kemi's brown ears flicked, and her tail lifted up as she took a seat on the stool, her voice was grave. "You have grown by leaps and bounds here in Orario, fighting against the monsters of the Dungeon. Level 3 in less than three years, and yet we have languished- stagnated. Our hunts only grow easier… we fear that you will continue to grow and one day leave us behind, Arjuuni."
"Indeed." Sooka took her seat and ran a hand over the fur of her ear, "You are strong, Arjuei. We would never forgive ourselves if we sat on our heels and watched you blaze a trail- should you seek a Great Hunt, then we should accompany you. As is proper."
I felt my chest ache as a sigh left my lips; my hands reaching out to grasp onto theirs tightly. "Sooka, Khemi… you are both my Aksani. No matter how strong I grew, I would never leave you too behind."
Small smiles pulled at their lips as their tails began to wag. Excellent, I don't need sad wolfie-waifus. My heart just couldn't take it.
"Now, why don't we speak while I forge this blade, hmm? I need to get this finished- we can go bathe afterward and I will show you to my room." I spoke as I moved back over to the forge and gave the bellows a dozen good puffs, it was just shy of where it needed to be, "I take it that you came straight here and didn't look for lodgings?"
Sooka shook her head, "No. The city is… strange. There are so many people here."
"Yes, more people than I ever thought I would see in my life," Khemi murmured as I pulled the blade from the forge and grabbed my hammer.
"Mind your ears, dears, this could get a little loud."
My brides to be smiled and folded their ears to their scalps as my hammer descended.
"So, the Skadi familia?" I mused as I pulled the leather on the longsword's hilt taut; my fingers keeping the last wrap in place while my other fingers worked the thick ribbon around.
"Yes, Skadi-sama has been a patron of many of our tribe members in centuries past, and a few of our tribesmen and women are already there." Blackie wiped at her nose as a bit of coal dust filled the air from a few forges over; why Brahm, looking mighty sour over there my guy! What's the matter? Feeling a little envious? Green isn't a good color for you man.
Brownie hummed as her head bobbed, "While the smell of the forge is pleasant on you, I do not think my nose could handle all of this dust. I am a huntress, not a smith; no, as much as I would love to stay by your side every day, Arjuuni, it is best if we worked separately."
"Where is he!?"
Ah, what a beautiful sound.
Both women were startled as the sliding door to the forge warehouse slammed open, and I just nonchalantly hammered the pommel into place before I twisted it with my hand and inserted the bronze pin; man, having Level 3 strength was great, because instead of trying to tap this little damn pin into place I could simply push it in!
The 'shhik, shhik' Tsubaki's sandals filled the air as I once again found myself in a headlock, the half-dwarf woman's knuckles digging into my scalp. "Youuuu lllllliiiiiiitttttttlllllllleeeeee rascal!"
"Ah! Ahhh! This isssss abuuuusssseeee! Unhand me, Tsubaki-nee!" I just barely managed to set the blade onto the workbench as both hands came up to try and interpose themselves between my noggin and my senpai's knuckles.
My wives to be sat back with amused expressions on their faces as my Captain and I stumbled left and right, bumping into shit and knocking things over; Tsubaki crowing at the top of her lungs just what a little stinker I was.
My Goddess tilted her head as she swept her eyes over my Aksani and then back to me. Sooka and Khemi, for their part, were properly demure in front of my Goddess, likely because this was the first time they'd ever experienced the Aura of a Divine; unless they'd passed by one on the street to get here. "And you want them to stay in your room until they have finalized their membership into Skadi-dono's familia?"
Deadpan. Keep it deadpan. "Yes?"
Nailed it.
Hephaestus leaned back in her armchair and covered her smile with her hand while Tsubaki chuckled openly, my Captain looking like Christmas had come early.
"You could just purchase for them a room at one of the local inns. I know that you've got the money for such things." Her lone eye crinkled, thankfully, Khemi came to the rescue.
"We wish to stay with our Arjuuni, Hephaestus-sama, as is proper now that we are reunited." Her brown ears lowered to her scalp as her head dropped low, "However, if you do not wish it to be so, then we will leave and seek our shelter elsewhere."
Hephaestus blinked and she leaned forward, "Now, now, I never said that. I just merely posited a possible alternative. I would never ask for you to part with your… Arjuuni so soon after you have arrived from your journey."
Ah, sweet relief. "However, there will be some ground rules."
Sooka perked up, her cute black tail swishing. "Ah, yes. Of course, Hephaestus-sama."
"Good, while I am glad to see that you are interested in young Bell-kun's work, I would like to remind you that all other forges are off-limits. We do offer some leeway to spouses of my Children, but those privileges are limited. Stay only to the dorms, the canteen, and his forge."
"And the training area? They wish to join me." I asked, knowing full well that she would allow it; it was merely a formality.
Hephaestus nodded, "Of course, of course."
I was honestly a little surprised that she didn't try to move us into separate rooms, but considering my junk didn't even work, the amount of pre-marital mischief we could get up to was very limited. Still though, Hephaestus-sama- you're such a bro!
It was difficult to keep the smile from my face as I massaged the soap into Sooka's luscious black hair, doing my best to keep the lather out of her ears; Khemi sat by patiently on her own stool, her brown tail thumping the tiled floor of the bathroom lightly. Oh God, to think that I had once tried to bury my face in exasperation at these betrothals!
Her ears swiveled to the side as the doorknob to the bathroom wiggled, but the chair from my room that I'd jammed up against the door kept it closed.
"Occupied," I called out, moving around to pick up the showerhead and I cupped a hand in front of her ear as I rinsed the shampoo out, before cupping her other ear as I worked the showerhead close to her scalp.
"Occ… upied? What? Damnit, brat. I just spent 12 hours in the forge, and I want a bath! You can't just hog the bathroom! It's a shared bath for a reason!"
"I can when my wives are in here with me. Come back in 15 minutes, we'll be out by then." I spoke back with an amused lilt to my voice as I dropped onto my knees and began to lather up her tail; it was always amusing how floofy their tails were, but when you got them wet all the volume just… disappeared.
The man on the other side of the door spluttered. "What? You mean the other guys weren't yanking my crank?"
"Afraid not my friend." I couldn't stop the chuckle from escaping my lips as Sooka and Khemi looked back at me with wry grins on their faces. I hosed off her tail before I pulled Blackie's hair into a thick ponytail and lifted it over her shoulder, my hands scrubbing a bar of nonscented soap as I began to scrub at her back.
My hands drifted down to the generous swell of her ass, my thumbs working into the indents of her lower back. A soft gasp left Sooka's lips, and Khemi's tail started to thump just a little bit harder as she waited for me to get over to her. I grabbed the washcloth and soaped it up before I lifted my bride-to-be's arm and scrubbed firmly, under one arm and then the other, and after a few moments of indecision I reached around and began to soap up the swells of her generous breasts; she didn't object at all, if anything she leaned back into me.
If my testicles had descended she'd be feeling my rock-hard cock against her spine, but alas, she just had to settle for my pre-pubescent length instead. Gods above and below, she was gorgeous; her thighs parted as my washcloth quested lower until I gently scraped and scrubbed at her lower lips. She convulsed and her hand clenched onto my wrist- I thought maybe I had fucked up, but instead, she began to move my hand, her hips rolling against me.
A blush inflamed my cheeks, but I wasn't a young boy experiencing a woman for the first time! I let the washcloth go and let my thin fingers quest through the soapy forest of black curls until my middle finger slipped right over her button, and she soundlessly twitched again; her breasts bounced pleasantly, and I began to gently stroke her clitoris. In less than a minute she was shaking, her thighs quivering until she clenched around my hand, her fingers gripping at my forearm and bicep like a lifeline.
Once her trembling stopped I leaned down and pressed my lips against hers- her lips were chapped, but that didn't take away from how pillowy soft they were. "I love you, my Aksani."
Whoo, didn't even have hormones coursing through my veins to let my mouth get away from me. However, this was a moment, and I was going to enjoy it.
She shivered and leaned back, her lips pressing against the base of my ear. "And I you, my strong Arujei."
I kissed her neck before I grabbed the showerhead and rinsed her off before moving towards Khemi, who has been a very good girl, the teen shivering and trembling as her ears folded down on her scalp and brown tail helicoptered around.
I showered her with the same affection and care I showed Sooka, and when I finally got around to lathering her breasts her mouth opened up and Sooka's hand lashed out to cover her mouth and nose. "Those who cannot be quiet and be respectful towards their campmates do not deserve attention."
I blinked. Ah, yeah, being quiet when doing the deed was sort of a virtue in the tribes; sure, everyone knew what was going on in the tents of the married, but you didn't advertise it. If you wanted to be loud, you took your business towards the forests.
" Anh~, sorry, my beloved Arjuuni." She whispered into my ear, "I can be silent. Please, lavish me with your affections as you have my Sanhei ." [Sister-wife].
I placed a gentle kiss at the base of her ear and gently groped her breast while my other hand slipped into her honey-brown curls and began to circle her clitoris. Sooka was quite large for her age, about the size of a small melon, and she would only grow larger as she continued into adulthood. Khemi was only slightly smaller, but with how small my hands were it would be years yet before I could properly handle my puppy's puppies.
I pinched a puffy nipple, causing Khemi to arch her back and bite down firmly on her lip, and within a dozen more seconds she was tensing up as her orgasm rocked her; her body convulsing as a small spray of fluid left her womanhood and coated my hand. Oh, so she was a squirter? I grinned and placed a firm kiss on her lips before I grabbed the showerhead and rinsed her off.
Finally, it was my turn, and with four hands scrubbing at my body, my cleaning went far quicker than theirs. There was some disappointment as they both took turns groping at my… boyhood and found that it got no reaction.
Trust me, girls, I'm just as sad about this as you are. Come on, chins up. Kiss, kiss. I love you both. Come on, let's get up and get out, we're close to the fifteen minutes.
We stood up, got dried off quickly, and I put a fresh pair of pants on while my fiances pulled on linen shifts that barely covered their ass cheeks with their tails wagging from side to side. I grabbed my dirty clothes as they grabbed theirs and removed the chair from the door. As we stepped out of the bath and into the hallway of the dormitory, I caught sight of more than a few jealous faces as we padded over to my room.
With the door closed behind us I placed my clothes in my hamper and walked over to my bed before handing my women four towels- one for their hair and one for their tails; they were practiced in tending to each other, brushes were brought out and I brushed Sooka's black tresses while she tended to Khemi. When I began brushing her tail it was impossible to keep my eyes away from the swells of her ass cheeks, and my inner man wept at not being able to stuff my face between them. To bite them and then kiss them better. Asses like this should be praised properly.
I wrapped her tail up in the dry towel before tying a knot at the base while she did the same with Khemi, and once the towels were wrapped around their gorgeous locks we slipped under the covers of my bed- which I found out was a very tight squeeze for three people, let alone two.
As I settled into the puppy pile, I felt a profound sense of satisfaction.
Who could ask for more?
Special thanks to Artillery, Dinero1121, Xodarap4, LMC 9389, DrkShadow, AuraofCalm, Zerak, Omar, and R.Bulut for being Patrons!
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A/N: Okay, seriously, I spent the last three days going over the speech to Tione, and damnit I fucking had it. Then when I woke up this morning to actually write out the scene I farted with my brain and no matter how hard I tried I couldn't get it back. It probably isn't as bad or as cringe as I felt about it, but I decided to just run with it because no amount of re-writing was going to get the mojo back for that one. So I'll just keep the MC's inability to give a proper shounen speech as a funny little quirk of his. lol
I hope that you found the fight entertaining, and the interactions with Sooka and Khemi- the first of his two kemonomimi werewolf-waifus to arrive; they really are the bestest of girls.
EDIT* You know what, upon reading it again it didn't come off as cringe as I had feared… maybe a tad bit preachy for someone who "doesn't know her", but I feel like I managed to capture her frustration adequately. Thoughts?
DOUBLE EDIT* Here are Shiro and Kuro for reference since it will be a few chapters until they're introduced.
Spoiler: Asami "Shiro" and Kimiko "Kuro"
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Chapter 6 - Enemy Action
[Bell Winters]
It has been six months since Khemi and Sooka arrived in Orario, and I can say that having them here really brought home some things for me. I was no longer opposed to having my harem- if anything, I realized that I had accepted them long ago when I kept their totems with me each and every day. The week that Blackie and Brownie spent with me while they entreated with the Skadi familia showed me just how invested I had become in them, and they in me. For them, a promise of a lifetime together in marital bliss wasn't something that was stated on the pages of a romance novel or sent in a text message next to a kissy-face and a heart emoji.
It was serious. It was real, and I honestly found out that I didn't mind it at all; maybe if this had been my "first time around the bend" I would have felt trepidation or even felt fear at the looming commitment, but for some reason, I felt strangely at ease with the arrangement. Was this because I had wanted to get married in my past life but held off until I actually found "the one"? Maybe, but ultimately, while Blackie and Brownie were young when they pledged themselves to me, they had grown into beautiful, incredibly mature young women who knew what they wanted and pursued it with a single-minded determination.
Whether that was a product of women from the tribes or just this world's common sense in general, I didn't know, but to be honest it just felt… really good to be desired so, to be wanted.
Lili and Naaza had a tense stand-off with the pair for the first few days, but on the 4th day, they had suddenly come to some sort of cease-fire? I wouldn't claim to know just what had transpired between them, but I wasn't going to pry unless they decided to share- that sort of business was way outside my lane; if there was one thing that my second life has taught me about this world was that men had "Men's Business" and women had "Women's Business" and either one sticking their noses into the business of the other was just asking for trouble. There were things that both sides had domains over, and when it came to those things they seemed to share pretty well - safety, finances, home life, etc- but heaven's help you if you stepped outside your lane.
Management of the wives was definitely "Women's Business" and as long as everyone was getting treated fairly then I wasn't going to step into that arena, at all.
Interestingly enough, Tiona and Tione started to come by the forge district, and I became their Contracted Smith , much to Loki's ire. Tiona had warmed up to me immediately, which was nice because the energetic young woman had been like a shot of adrenaline to the system, while Tione had been far more reserved but seemingly no less interested. If Tiona's gossiping when her sister wasn't around was to be believed, she had been on the fence on whether or not to pursue me or the Captain of the Loki familia, as we had both defeated her and while I had been 'annoying' in my preaching to her… I had at least been interested in her back.
Which lead to a number of interesting conversations with more energetic of the Amazon sisters, especially after she'd ended up meeting Sooka and Khemi- the werewolves had been more than happy to welcome Tiona into the 'pack' even if it wasn't 'official', and were more than willing to let Tione 'pursue' me at her own pace. Naaza and Lili had all but been accepted already, and that was something, though the Pallum still had a harder time accepting it but was slowly but surely coming around to it- according to Sooka she had already decided that sharing with Naaza was likely to be in the cards already, so what was a few more?
So, I practiced my magic, taught Lili my Soothing Touch spell after handing over my Whisperwood staff, and I once again lamented just how much easier things were when one had a teacher. It had taken me 9 months to learn how to control my Mind well enough to manipulate even that simple spell, but with some tutoring, instructions on a chalkboard, and the like, Liliruca Arde learned the spell well enough to be added to her falna in less than 4 months. The lessons learned from my failures had sped up her learning by leaps and bounds.
I had tried to get some one-on-one time with Riveria Ljos Alf in exchange for some equipment I made, but unfortunately, Lefiya Viridis had arrived in Orario and was now taking up the majority of her time. The elf Princess wasn't opposed to teaching me, but between my time in the smithy and our Dungeon dives, the amount of available time we could meet up was incredibly limited… unless I was willing to switch my entire day around. While I was willing to do so, the forges didn't operate at night for a reason.
Still, progress was made and it was damn good progress at that- I had been able to progress down to the 29th Floor before I hit my first wall for Level 3, which was about what I expected considering how I chained the monsters together. I stopped before I hit my "5 by 5" to avoid triggering the Status Update as required by Hephaestus, and I decided to stick to the 19th - 24th Floors and farm there with Naaza and Liliruca whenever Tsubaki couldn't chaperone me.
In fact, we were currently on the 23rd Floor right now in a joint mini-expedition that Hephaestus and Miach had put together; the Miach familia needed materials for their potions, and there were Mid-Steel and High-Steel ore nodes in abundance on the 19th-25th floors, while Nosteel and the first few nodes of Mithril, Damascus, and Light Metal were starting to appear on Floors 22 through 24. Myself, Vornir, and 21 Level 2 and 3 Smiths from the Hephaestus familia came, while all 17 members who were above Level 1 in the Miach familia attended as well.
We had 12 wagons between the 42 of us, and it was during this mini-expedition I learned why it took weeks for the expeditions from the larger familias to go and get anything done in the Dungeon.
Adventurers were fast while wagons were slow. Add in the fact that wagons attracted a lot of monster attention and that made movement even worse.
The Miach familia only brought 3 wagons while we had the other 8, and boy was it slow going.
We fought off Firebirds that tried to set our wagons on fire, Bugbears that looked like souped-up Goblins, Battle Boars that were surprisingly hearty and difficult to bring down for how simple it was to actually fight them, and the three and a half meter tall Trolls required a team of 4 Level 2s to bring down thanks to their quick regeneration. The insect monsters like the Gun Libellula were a pain for anyone not well-versed in archery to bring down, which pretty much meant that myself, Liliruca, and Naaza were on duty 24/7 to kill them efficiently.
The Mad Beetles were handled by the smiths who favored heavy axes and war hammers quite well though, so that was good; their thick carapaces might have shrugged off cuts from a sword, but they crumpled when faced with a cleaving strike or crushing blow. The Mammoth Fools were just like the Trolls in that they needed a 4 man team to bring down, but it was because they were just so damn big and not due to their regeneration.
We were currently on the 23rd Floor in a nice little encampment near the wall of the Large Tree Labyrinth, which was nice because the monsters didn't seem to spawn from the walls like the other Floors, instead they spawned the caves or from the ground. They also didn't spawn right on top of you as they did in the Upper Floors, which meant that the wagons could be circled up and a loose perimeter established. Vornir, myself, and the leader from the Miach familia for this expedition- which funnily enough ended up being Naaza's mother- set up "Away Parties" of a bare minimum of five members each, with at least one bowman and one ax/hammer wielder in the groups to ensure we have a proper mix of damage for the varied monsters this floor had; if we went down one more Floor then we'd lose some of the more annoying monsters, but trade them in for larger groups of more lethal monsters.
I asked Vornir to take a copy of the map we had and scout around the floor, marking off readily visible nodes of resources so that we could begin setting up a rotation to go out and collect them; we could scour the caves at our leisure for the more lucrative Nosteel, Damascus, and Light Metal once we had our quotas of High-Steel and Mid-Steel filled. The old dwarf huffed a laugh and patted me on the head, praising me for "thinking and planning ahead".
This was annoying because this was just basic scouting and reconnaissance- there shouldn't be anything groundbreaking or revolutionary about sending the Level 5 who can move quickly, was experienced with the terrain, and could handle themselves against even the largest monster parties the Dungeon could throw at them.
What the hell did they do before? Just… show up and walk around, gathering whatever they found along the way before deciding to head back up?
"Alright, Team 1, this will be your target- we have a visible Nosteel cluster that we don't have to hunt for later, and since it is on the opposite end of the Floor it isn't something we can grab on the way back unless we make a significant detour if we decide to go down to the 24th Floor. According to Vornir-sama, there are three clusters of nodes that are within 100 meters of each other at the base of this ridge; we can expect anywhere from 4 to 12 nodes per cluster, so grabbing them would greatly increase how lucrative this dive is." I looked up from my travel desk at the teams arrayed around the morning campfire.
"However, because this is on the opposite end of the Floor, Teams 2 and 3 will be assisting you, along with two Supporters from the Miach familia; there are only a few Mithril Pickaxes capable of mining those nodes, so everyone that isn't mining or watching the backs of those mining will be assisting them in harvesting whatever flora they find." I dipped my pen into the inkwell and returned to scratching out a rough copy of the 23rd Floor; the writing desk had a glass panel covering an opening which allowed light from a magic stone lamp to penetrate the map and thus allowing me to copy down the maps onto separate parchment for all of the teams.
"Are there any questions?" I asked and to my surprise, they all shook their heads. I would have expected some push-back at least, but I guess being a highly successful Level 3 and at least appearing to be competent and organized did a lot in making them compliant with my wishes.
I nodded. "Good, there are two routes that I've transcribed onto the maps that should get you to the mining area with less resistance. It is important that you stick to these routes unless the situation becomes untenable- Vornir-sama will be patrolling a route that will take him to each mining location for the day, and if you have deviated from the mining location or travel routes then he will come looking."
"Do NOT make him come looking. Do NOT get greedy. I don't care if a Mithril node pops up in front of your nose, or you trip over an Adamantium node on your walk over; finish your assignments and come back, but note such discrepancies on your maps." I shook my head as I passed the freshly copied map over to Team 1's leader before crossing my arms over my chest, "Your lives are the priority; we can always come back for equipment left behind, or we can purchase new things. Do you all understand?"
There was a chorus of various "Yes" and the like, and I stood up and placed my hands on my hips. "I will leave you with this: I have heard some fairly disturbing things about this area of the Dungeon- whispers and rumors, but I don't like them at all. Possible cloaked figures, monsters attacking in large groups, monsters appearing to be organized as if they have been tamed. If you see that you're being observed by other Adventurers beyond the normal, make a note of it and maybe write a brief description of who is observing you. If you get attacked by monsters that are well organized, fucking retreat to us okay?"
"Also, I don't think I should need to tell you this, but if there is anyone wearing a full-body cloak, that is and should be immediately suspicious, and I want that reported, alright?" That got a chorus of chuckles from the men and women, and I scratched the back of my head with my hands. "Good, now off with you and come back bearing gifts."
"Now, Teams 4 and 5, we have seven High-Steel and Mid-Steel deposits on the walls near the entrance here, just under 400 meters away from our current position, here is your map. I will send a wagon as well as Team 6 over to move the materials back here for processing-"
The "Processing" was merely the removal of the excess rock from around the nuggets of material; sure, it could be done on-site, but that was a fair amount of work, and I would much rather it be done here where we have a somewhat defensible position.
Move in, mine the nodes, and transport the nodes back; no need for excessive noise away from the safety of the group.
This was Evilus territory- even if I was still a way out from canon, I wasn't going to take any chances, not with my people's lives.
"I think I can see why my Naaza-chan is so taken with you, Bell-kun." A gentle voice sounded out while I began on the preliminary paperwork and organization of the ores we had collected thus far, and I turned my head to look at the floppy-eared beauty that was Naaza's mother.
Spoiler: Mila Erisuis
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I guess it wasn't surprising to see how young she looked, but with Mila Erisuis' dark brown hair and green eyes, I had to guess that Naaza got her hair and eyes from her father. The floppy ears, button nose, and cute, pouty mouth were all her mother though.
My eyebrow arched as I finished counting out the Mid-Steel ores and began placing them back into the wooden crate in the back of the wagon before I stacked it back up and grabbed the next crate- 48 ores for crate #MS10, now onto #MS11. "What you're getting at Erisuis-san? I don't think that adding a little organization to this expedition is quite what you're getting at."
The woman tittered behind her hand coquettishly as she dumped a fair amount of tan powder from her mortar into a large tin container. The cheinthrope then grabbed a handful of some type of dried leaf and threw it into the stone mortar before her stone pestle began to grind away. "Oh, no, that isn't it at all. I just think that you seem to be a natural leader, someone that can grab everyone's attention not just through charisma, but because what you say makes sense to the people who hear your words."
She hummed to herself a little bit before she bobbed her head, her floppy ears bouncing away as she spoke. "The organization of the teams, the little strategies, and routes, even the organization of the wagon train and our supplies. I can honestly say that for the first time I felt like I was an Adventurer for one of the major familias! It felt very professional."
"Nyea, usually we don't come down this far at all, even with our Captain." A white-haired catkin chirped from another table where she was busy cutting the tough, purplish stems and veins from large yellow-colored leaves. "We have to rely on other familias to get us our ingredients, and they don't do the best job… if they even properly handle the materials at all!"
Spoiler: Mushi Erisuis
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27, 28, 29, 30- I paused in my counting to look up at the two of them. "I find that pretty hard to believe- with the number of Level 2s you have the Miach familia should be regular visitors to these floors, or at least that is what I would have thought."
31, 32, 33, 34, 35…
"Meh, we're not an Exploration-type familia, nya know?" The cat-kin shrugged her shoulders as she used her knife to begin cutting the leaves into little squares that would be then stacked up and placed into some sort of dehydrator; the dried leaves would then be sent over to Mila for rendering into a powder. "We are a Crafting-type familia; combat and fighting are two things that we really don't like to do."
Wait, aren't combat and fighting the same thing?
The cheinthrope woman pouted, "We're getting side-tracked Mushi-chan, we're talking about the strong and reliable man our cute little Naaza-chan is interested in!"
44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, and 50.
I annotated the number of ores on my sheet and moved on to crate #MS13 and began counting them out. "Okay, I think I understand what you're getting at, Erisuis-san, but maybe you could provide a little context?"
"Mou! Just call me Okaa-san, O-Kaa-sa-n~!" The woman waggled her pestel at me from her chair with a disapproving pout on her face.
"Hee hee hee, yeah, you might as well, Bell-kun, you're practically married already!" The feline chuckled.
"Anyways, to answer your question, just like werewolves, cheinthropes naturally tend to form packs around capable men. It's just that Naaza hasn't grown up around other cheinthrope families, not like I have. So her instincts and desires were warring with her Orario sensibilities, which was why she was giving you the cold-shoulder when your little werewolf wives first showed up." The woman nodded to herself as her hands continued to work, "Mushi-chan and I had to have a little sit down with Lili-chan and Naaza-chan to help them understand that there was no reason to let things like jealousy interfere with how the pack operates, especially since it would be formed around a werewolf core; those tend to be more focused and regimented."
I blinked and stood up so that I could look more carefully at the two women, "What was it that you told them that brought them around? I thought I was going to have to deal with that for quite a while, at least until they got to know each other a little better."
"Oh, that's easy! We just told them that if they didn't like the fact that you had a pack forming around you then they could just look elsewhere." The feline grinned broadly as she twisted in her seat and placed her current stack of cut leaves onto a metal tray, "Solved that little jealousy problem really quick."
I squinted my eyes and gave the feline a funny look. "That was surprisingly blunt."
Mila Erisuis held out her hand and shook it a little bit, "Possibly, but that is just how packs work, my dear son-in-law. It is the natural order of things and going against one's instincts more often than not only leads to disappointment; it was her instincts that lead her to choose you, after all, and she is happy to be by your side. Why should she be angry when other young women see the same things and wish to share in that happiness? Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Pallums, and Weretigers tend to be monogamous, but Cheinthropes, Werewolves, Reynards, Sheep-kin, Cow-kin, Boaz, and Humme Bunnies tend to form packs, skulks, herds, warrens, what have you."
"Amaznyans and Cat-girls tend to be in the middle- easily going one way or another." Mushi chimed in, "I found a good man who already had a pack around him, and I wanted him, so I joined up. It is a simple as that, no?"
"So I'm guessing that the man you are referring to was… Naaza's father?"
"That's right, nya~!" Her exuberance and smile tapered off, "Although he died before he could give me a kitty of my own to raise. He wasn't a fighter, but he was intelligent, dedicated, and kind."
Mila Erisuis sighed and rested her chin on her hand as the grinding of the pestle came to a halt. "That he was. The man was someone that I thought for sure would do something great, but he left his notes behind, and Naaza-chan is going through them with gusto; she inherited his intellect, and I think that she'll be able to finish out his work."
I blinked and rubbed the back of my hand against my chin; was that where Naaza had gotten the idea to create her Dual-Potions? Her father had left her some notes?
"You aren't going to finish the work he started?" I asked absentmindedly as I turned back to my work and began counting the last crate of Middle-Steel nuggets; if they could chat and work at the same time, then so could I.
The cheinthrope woman let out a soft huff, and I imagined her shaking her head as I counted off both in my head and soundlessly on my lips; anything less than that and I would lose my count. "No, unfortunately, I can only read a little bit; everything I know about potion making comes from my Mixing ability and repeated instructions from Miach-sama."
Her voice was wistful and I heard the camp chair she was using creak, "It was how we met- the handsome city boy teaching the cute little girl from out in the sticks how to read… I would say that it sounds like something out of a romance novel but considering I'd never read any that would be untruthful."
"I find it surprising that a familia who specializes in medicines would allow someone to remain illiterate, what about Miach-sama? Doesn't he teach?"
"Oh, he does, but it is difficult for him to find time since he's the only one capable of making the High Potions our familia sells to the larger familias for their expeditions, so he's often incredibly busy filling out orders."
I blink and almost lose count, "The only one? That is a little surprising… what about hiring a tutor? I can't imagine that paying a few hundred valis an hour for instruction would be too difficult, even if your familia isn't as lucrative as it could be."
She hummed in response, and silence filled the working area as we went about our tasks. The air felt a little awkward, and I felt like maybe I might have stepped into something with that- since it had been her husband teaching her… maybe it had been a bit of a sore spot for her?
I let out a gusting sight and focused on my work.
Once I had finished with the Mid-Steel crates I moved on to the High-Steel crates and counted those out, making sure to write everything down so that I could have a comprehensive and clean report for my Goddess when we returned to the surface in a few days.
Once my tasks were complete I hopped out of the wagons and made my way over towards my equipment where I suited up in my armor and clipped on my weapons, my bow, and my quiver filled with Chantwood arrows- they were non-magically reactive, as not every Chantwood tree grew up to be useful for the making of Magical Focuses, but they were suitable for most enemies down to the 40th Floor.
They were incredibly expensive too, costing almost four thousand valis each when the normal arrows I had been using could be picked up for 200 valis; the trade-off was that the possibility of these breaking was far, far lower as long as my shot placement was good. I had to sit down with my Rookie Dungeon Advisor, Eina Tulle, and go through the various weak points on the monsters I would be fighting from here on out, with some solicited- and paid for- advice from the fletchers who had been Adventurers themselves before they retired.
My shortsword days were now behind me as I started my growth spurts, steadily inching up as the months began to tick by, and thankfully I was maturing what was considered "nominal" for young boys who got their falnas early- it took some extra time, he assured me, for my puberty to arrive, but it would arrive all the same. Had I remained a Level 1 I would have been just a few months behind, but the growth to Level 2 and Level 3 in less than two years would have set me behind even further if not for the healing God's intervention. Hephaestus applied some tweaks to the falna's underlying structure with Miach's help, and now I would continue to grow and age normally until I reached 20 years of age, in which the changes would revert themselves and my falna would revert to the previous settings.
So, overall I was a year and some change behind on my development, but since it wasn't harmful and it only impacted my sex life I decided that it was fine. I'd gone this many years without sex, I could go a little bit extra, especially since I was going to be living five times longer, if not more; a Level 3 human could live up to 200 years, a Level 4 250 years, and the longest recorded living human was a Level 5 who was still kicking around 327 years later. Considering the average lifespan was only 55 years, even with potions and magical items, for non-elves, living that long would be pretty damn good in my opinion.
No one liked dying. I winced at the thought, feeling a phantom pain lance through my belly. Yeah, that thought wasn't fun at all.
Anyway, I had grown a few inches, which allowed me to start using a heavier and longer longsword, and this one was made from Damascus that was Insert Forged with the core of the Minotaur horn that I had gotten from my Level 3. I fashioned it similarly to my shortswords, making it thicker and a fair bit heavier, but with my falna enhanced strength the additional 20 pounds of weight was superfluous (Damascus is pretty damn heavy), but I couldn't make it exactly the same due to differences in design philosophy from short to longswords.
Besides, it was a neat opportunity to differ the blades, and if you don't take the time to try new things then you're stagnating as a smith. I kept the frills and embellishments down to a minimum though, as I wasn't a fan of the amount of detail work that some of the smiths poured into custom orders- we made weapons , not showpieces.
Spoiler: Journeyman/Longsword Design
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Besides, the amount of time that was put into gaudy detail work, I could have fashioned three more blades of the exact same make that I did before. So one beautifully crafted longsword that glittered with gems and gold or four longswords that could kill whatever you needed to kill? I knew where my time would be spent- not that I'd ever received any custom orders from anyone besides Tiona and Tione. Slowly but surely the more youthful of the pair was working her way towards the idea that would one day coalesce into the Urga, while Tione was perfectly happy using the Damascus scimitar and large kukri knives that I fashioned for her in my usual, extra-thick style.
Spoiler: Tione's Scimitar
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Spoiler: Tione's Big Kukri's
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Spoiler: Tiona's Big, Thick, Sword
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Regardless, my smithing was coming along quite nicely, and Hephaestus promised me that I would soon begin learning how to make armor, if only to help fulfill my promise to Aiz- a promise that I didn't even know I made- and become her Contracted Smith as well. My Goddess had to remind me that smithing contracts weren't just about securing powerful and wealthy patronage, but it was about securing prestige as well, as the successes and stories of my clients would be my stories as well since I made the weapons and armor that saw them through their grand tales.
I broke down and ended up purchasing a single Minotaur horn from the Guild since Naaza, Lili, and myself couldn't manage to get another horn drop since my Rank-Up, and I used them to fashion my daggers again. So, I had my new Damascus-Minotaur longsword that I named "Journeyman" to commemorate my beginning journies into the Lower Floors, my twin Damascus-Minotaur steel daggers, and a plain Damascus steel boot knife that I would keep in the most obvious place to keep a boot knife- in the damn boot. The last piece was an elvish longbow that ran me just under 30 Million valis, fashioned from non-magically reactive Whitewood and made by a rival of the Alfheim Archery conglomerate who didn't believe in restricting their business to only elvish clientele.
Sure, the bows made by Selvim Solmeran weren't as good as those made by the cousins of the elf Princess Riveria Ljos Alf, but considering I wasn't an elf or adopted into the elvish royal family or something else ludicrous, his work was the best a non-elf archer was going to get. The only sticking point was that his work would only support me up till Level 5; once I made Level 6 he wouldn't have the skills to support me any further- I would have to try and broker a deal with the Alfheim archery to purchase a bow made by them. However, being a Level fucking 6 would more than likely help them make an exception to their policies, if only because I would be one step below the King and on-par with their much-vaunted elf Princess.
I traded in my High-Steel chainmail for Damascus chainmail that went under a treated orc-hide cuirass that had been Infused with Ant Chiton- the stuff was still surprisingly hearty even at the Floors I was currently on, but if I went any lower than the 27th Floor then I would need to step up to Mad Beetle Chiton. Over that, I wore a treated web-gear system that functioned similarly to the rigs used by the US Army in the 1970s; it was minimalist, functional, and it carried all of the little bits and bobs I was looking for. Trying to get it implemented in the familia or anyone else would require a pretty serious culture shift- standardized gear wasn't really a thing here in Orario; people wore what they wanted, how they wanted, and so convincing them would be a fool's errand without showing them how much better it was to have pouches and things.
Spoiler: LBE/LCE
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I still wondered where half of the people even carried their potions and shit, because if they weren't wearing something skin-tight, then they weren't wearing much of anything at all; I swear, did the women just slip potion vials between their breasts or something?
Besides the LBE/LCE system was easy enough to slip on over my armor and it was comfortable and didn't get in the way of my movements when fighting. It was perfect in my opinion!
The only thing there was to do now was just wait for Team 6 to come back with the wagon load of High-Steel nodes from Team 4 and 5's Area of Responsibility, and then I could head out and do some training while doubling up on the Oversight Patrol route that I had Vornir on; it was still too early for Evilus, but I said it once and I'll say it again: I don't trust those fuckers as far as I can throw them.
The incident on the 27th was more than enough for me to be wary of what they could accomplish, and those 50 or so Adventurers that had perished had been Level 3s and above- the sheer numbers needed to take out that many High-Class Adventurers would need to be insane, and I didn't want my people out here in their territory for any longer than we needed to be. This went double since I think I had managed to somehow prevent the Miach familia from falling apart, though that didn't explain where Naaza's mother had gone after her wounding… or if the event that caused it had even come to pass yet.
Roughly a half-hour later Team 4 had come back, with Team 6 taking over their mining rotation since the nodes had been quite abundant- Team 4 would head back out and take over Team 5's position and allow them to get some rest time.
"Good, good. Just be sure to get some rest before heading back out yourselves. Then let Team 7 go out and relieve Team 6 in your stead and you take up the Guard rotation here at camp with Team 8." I handed over my self-made clipboard to the team leader of Team 4, "Just make sure to annotate on the list here just how many High-Steel ores are in each crate as you fill them up; save me some time in having hand count each one when I come back from my patrol, okay?"
The dwarf chuckled and patted me on the shoulder as he took the clipboard, "Not a problem, my boy. You just head out and kill what needs killin', leave this work to us professionals."
The issue was that I couldn't tell if he was being facetious or serious.
I made a quick back and forth of the semi-circular section of land that I had chosen as our base camp- it was a raised hill that had a steep ravine on two sides with the wall at our backs, leaving the monsters of the floor that weren't fliers only one real direction to come at us from. This gave us the high ground and made the area easily defensible, but it also meant that we would only have one avenue of escape unless we threw down ropes and climbed down- and yes, I had four ropes prepared and staked into the ground on the side closest to the staircase. Vornir and I could hold the line long enough to get the Miach familia evacuated, and we would eventually link up with them at the staircase to the 22nd Floor.
It always paid to think ahead, and it wasn't like the monsters would mess with our shit if we left the camp quickly enough; we would just have to travel back up to Rivira and hire out a dozen or so of the Level 3s there to come back down with us and retrieve our stuff.
They'd charge an eye-watering price for most small familias, but considering they were ores and medical supplies needed to supply the Hephaestus familia and the Miach potion-making familia, the familias who help keep Under Resort supplied with weapons and potions for minimal profit… it would behoove them to not do anything stupid such as charge us an outrageous rate. Sure, we'd lose out on a few Million valis hiring them, but that would be a pittance to the monster cores and drop items we'd bring back up, and since we're crafting familias we'd turn what we brought back into even more valis anyway.
I made three back and forth tracks with a few hundred meters in between each patrol, killing a few dozen monsters who were starting to creep a little closer to the camp than I'd like, but other than that the area was fairly clean. Since Vornir had started his Route in the north and would steadily work his way south, I decided that I would start in the south, head out east towards the furthest teams- 1, 2, and 3 going after the Nosteel nodes- and then work my way north towards teams 5, 6, and 7.
The 23rd Floor, much like the rest of the Large Tree Labyrinth, wasn't one that you could just blow through at full speed- it had a lot of swampy lowlands along with deep, interlacing caves and long stone bridges that connected the upper cave systems to the lower cave systems. It didn't help that half of the flora mimicked half of the plant-type monsters on the floor- there were carnivorous pitcher plants that lunged at you with serrated teeth, giant mushroom monsters that looked like other giant mushrooms, strangulating vines that attempted to choke the life out of you, and lumps of moss that clung to trees that would drop onto your head and try to use their starfish-like mouth tried to chew through your skull.
If you were someone like a Level 5 you could feasibly just run through the place, and woe betide whatever tried to nom on you, but for even someone like me, this place was dangerous, especially since I hadn't had a status update since I Ranked Up to Level 3. The safest way to travel was to rip a chunk of stone out and carry it with you, breaking off little pieces of it to throw at everything that looked suspicious.
However, considering everything on these damn floors looked 'SUS-AF' , I got in a lot of throwing practice, but more often than not my intuition seemed pretty spot-on; I got to practice with my new bow quite often, killing the various monsters that wanted to take a bite out of my ass or choke me without at least giving me a 'safeword'.
I managed to collect some neat drops in the process- a pair of Sword Stag antlers that would soon be replacing my Minotaur knives, and a handful of Dark Fungus caps that the Miach familia would pay me handsomely for; the Dark Fungus monster surprised a lot of Adventurers and laid them up for days if they didn't have Abnormal Resist, so those antidotes were quite a moneymaker for the familia.
Toss a stone, reveal the monster, shoot it with an arrow, retrieve the arrow and monster core. Rinse and repeat.
The closest I got to some actual action was a Bloody Hive I encountered a few hundred meters away from Team 1, 2, and 3's location at the Nosteel nodes, but a half-dozen arrows silenced it before it could do more than spawn a dozen Deadly Hornets. I fired two more arrows into it just to make sure it was dead, which lead to me accidentally striking the monster core.
That sucked because it was considered a Level 4 monster, and its core would have given me 500,000 valis alone, but it did drop a Deadly Hornet Chiton for me, which I would save for later as it was superior to the Mad Beetle Chiton drops; Beetle Chiton gave improved protection but added weight when Imbued into armor, but Deadly Hornet Chiton gave better protection and lightened the weight.
As I patrolled around the work site I pondered about what I would do with the Deadly Hornet Chiton, and I decided that I would use it to Imbue the first set of armor for Aiz; depending on how much lighter it made the armor, I could afford to use a heavier material… but unless I picked up another Deadly Hornet Chiton I would either have to enchant her cuirass or her arms and leg guards, or her chainmail. With three Chiton drops, I could Imbue or Insert Forge them all.
Hmmm… segmented armor chest piece? Would have to be Damascus since that is all I'm rated for- I was doing my Nosteel, Heroic Alloy, and Hihiirokane certification classes with Hephaestus, but it would be another year before she allowed me to do anything more than look at Mithril, and probably another two before she let me do more than breath the same air as Adamantium or Dir-Adamantium.
Maybe a Damascus/Light Steel alloy? The Damascus was rated for Level 4 monsters, and Light Steel Level 3- if I could alloy them together then it would provide the best of both, and when chest pieces, gauntlets, and greaves were Insert Forged, I could imbue the chainmail…
The sound of feet approaching snapped me out of my musings and I turned to look towards the figure approaching me and spotted Vornir, and the dwarf alighted next to me up on the thick tree branch I was using as my Overwatch point on the teams below. "Heh, good. If ya' hadn't heard someone as big as me'self stomping through the forest here, I'd a hit ya' over the head for not paying attention."
The Level 5 raised his Adamantium Hammer Hand and wiggled it for emphasis.
I still couldn't believe the man had an Adamantium Hammer for a hand, of all of the possible prosthetics the man could have afforded, he chose to mount a hammer onto a brace and called it 'good'.
A smile wormed its way across my lips and I shook my head as I turned my attention to a trio of Gun Libellula, large dragonfly monsters that shot seed-like chiton bullets from their tails, approaching the camp, and I drew three arrows before losing them one at a time in quick succession; the Whitewood bow thwanged beautifully, and the velocity at which the Chantwood arrows were fired at they crossed the intervening distance in the blink of an eye and brought them tumbling out of the sky. They landed within jogging distance of the Guard members of the team, and they waved at me as they ran out to finish the monsters off and retrieve my arrows for me.
I gave the area one last scan before turning my attention back towards my Level 5 senpai. "I'm thinking about armor… what I'd make for Aiz-san once I get some coaching."
The dwarf smiled and stroked his beard. "Heh, eight wives ain't good enough for you, eh? Trying to add a number 9?"
A snort escaped my lips, "I have Blackie, Brownie, Shiro, and Kuro. Naaza and Liliruca are entertaining the idea, and I think that the more energetic of the Amazon twins- Tiona- is considering the possibility. I don't know what her sister thinks, but in any case, I said I would make armor for her when I learned how, and I'd be a poor Contract Smith if I made her wait that long, right?"
"Yup, a poor Contract Smith indeed; even if it isn't official by any means, I think everyone here has already resigned themselves to the eventuality that for the famous Sword Princess only the Smith Prince will do." He tugged on his beard. "So, armor, what are you thinking of using for materials? I know for a fact you don't have Hephaestus-sama's approval to work on any of the magical materials yet, so what's going through yer mind?"
"I'm thinking a Damascus/Light Steel alloy- maybe 60/40? She's still a Level 4 right now, but I think that might be changing soon. Hell, maybe she's already a Level 5? Regardless, something flexible and lightweight enough for her to move around in, yet durable enough to absorb some punishment. A well-padded gambeson made with Charge Sheep wool from the 30th Floor, Damascus/Light Metal chainmail- long-sleeved and fitted into a knee-length skirt; trying to move her away from everything cute would just get her Goddess to rebel, so I'll have to make it look stylish."
I rubbed my chin as I leaned up against the trunk of the tree, "Knee-length greaves and forearm guards- both the same Damascus/Light Metal blend. Insert Forge the large materials with Deadly Hornet Chiton, and then Imbue the chainmail. I think I have a pretty good idea of how I'm going to style it; I'm sure Loki-sama would be pleased, even if it isn't exactly revealing."
Yes, I was going to make Aiz Wallenstein into a Saber-Expy, but for the most part, it would be streamlined, and it would be a sight better than the skirt, knee-high leather boots, and half-a-boob plate. The real question would be whether to move her towards the navy and royal colors of Saber or keep her white and blue motif a la Saber Lily.
My dwarven senpai reached up and ruffled my hair. "Sounds like you got it all figured out, my boy. Jus' let me know if you need any help, ah' can help with the prototyping at least- help ya' figure out what works."
He released my head and cupped his chin, "The Deadly Hornet Chiton is an interesting choice- stronger and lighter; almost makes the Light Metal unnecessary. Though if she is a high-mobility fighter as you've said in the past, then sacrificing a touch of protection to cut the weight by half or more seems to be the correct path forward. Once you get your Nosteel certification, I have a pretty good Nosteel/Light Metal blend that I can share with ye'."
I blinked. "You'd… share that with me?"
Things like that were pretty personal to smiths, a lot of research and development goes into creating personal blends, and they're often closely guarded secrets, even among smiths of the same familia. The fact that he'd share such a thing was… humbling.
"Yeah, I would. It ain't like I've got any more personal contracts to keep up with since the Zeus and Hera familias left the city, but I've been speaking with the Freya familia about possibly equipping her up-and-coming Gulliver brothers; those Children just made Level 5, and they're going to be shopping around for new equipment soon." The dwarf chuckled and scratched the back of his head with his hammer hand, "Besides, I don't have any children of my own, and my last Apprentice went and got himself killed on the 30th floor almost three decades ago, so I think it is about time I start loosening my belt and sharing my knowledge with the more promising members of the familia."
He placed his hands on his hips and looked towards the ceiling with a huff. "You've got Hephaestus-sama's eye, and if someone is going to succeed Tsubaki-chan when the time comes I think it jus' might be you so… hmpf… well… good talk. I'm off."
I didn't even have a chance to thank the man, as it was pretty damn humbling to see someone as proud as Vornir 'One-Hand' say such a thing.
I guess that emotional things like this weren't his strong suit?
With a shrug, I turned my attention back towards the worksite and pondered.
Galbraith 'Hammer Singer', Vornir's predecessor had been missing his eye.
Vornir himself was missing his eye.
Tsubaki was missing her eye.
Hephaestus was missing her eye.
Was I going to lose my eye down the road too?
It sort of felt like a damn requirement at this rate, and I hoped that I would keep both of my eyes in the years to come; I was going to be too damn handsome to be missing an eye! Although, imagining my older, more gruff self with an eye-patch like Tsubaki's looked pretty damn cool- no, I liked having depth perception far more than I liked looking cool.
I tried looking cool once, and that led to me giving an embarrassing speech to an Amazon teen that I didn't know at all.
Never again.
We spent three more days on the 23rd Floor, harvesting every single node we could get our hands on, and the Miach familia was quite flush with alchemical reagents- their storehouse back at their small familia compound was going to be overflowing, and the members were already trying to decide what they were going to be reasonably able to use before their non-powdered and dried stocks spoiled.
It was likely that the remainder would be sold to Dian Cecht and a few other Potion-related crafting familias to handle the excess ingredients.
Our own wagons were bursting at the seams with all of the ores we had collected, and Vornir remarked that the Hephaestus familia hadn't had a haul like that since the Zeus and Hera familia loaned some of their members during their time in the city. Mid-Steel and High-Steel were in abundance, and Nosteel and Light Metal were found frequently enough in the caves that we were able to fill up a wagon each.
We even got lucky and found a few Mithril clusters during a particularly hairy cave dive- it had been an ambush with three Deadly Hives spawning Deadly Hornets in droves, but Vornir was able to power through them all with an amazing display of strength; the sticky fluids that the Hives used to tie their captives down so that they could be overwhelmed by their spawns did little to slow the dwarf down.
We were on the 20th Floor and about to head up to the 19th Floor when we encountered a pretty sizeable Monster Party, but I couldn't tell if it was anything out of the norm given my inexperience with these floors.
"Teams 1 and 2! Range out and meet the monsters coming from the left! Teams 4 and 5! Range out and meet the monsters on the right! We need to keep them away from the wagons!" I bellowed out from my position on top of one of the wagons stacked with sealed ore crates, the additional elevation would give me more than enough height to see the action and provide support. "Teams 3, 6, 7, 8, and 9 will keep this train moving! Do not deviate from our return path! I will guard the wagons here, Vornir-sama, stay close and back up any groups that are going to be overwhelmed!"
The teams of blacksmiths and potioneers that were capable combatants ran out to engage the monsters; they were coming in from two directions, but that was because there was a fairly sizeable mountain-like feature near our route that was splitting their number. It wasn't a sign of Evilus involvement. Just a bunch of monsters.
"Any reason why we haven't been sent out, Bell-kun?" Naaza chimed in from her position next to the wagon driver on the wagon behind me.
I pulled off my bow and drew an arrow before sending it out to put down a Lizardman that was attempting to skirt around the fighting. "Well, you and Lili are Level 2s, you don't need the Excelia as you aren't close to Ranking Up. Those going out now? They could use it. Besides, I'm going to need someone to help me watch over the train, so grab your bow and hop up top- that goes for you too Lili!"
"Yes, Bell-sama!" My little Pallum girl chirped up from the very front of the wagon train and she clambered on top of the Miach familia's canvas-covered wagon with her short bow in hand.
I drew and fired whenever some monsters tried to get cute, and Naaza and Lilirua handled those that weren't worth one of my more powerful arrows. Vornir exploded into the fighting wherever he was needed and scattered any murder balls.
The wagons kept moving, and about twenty minutes into the fighting I began the rotation. "Teams 3 and 6, range out and relieve whoever is needing to take a break."
They worked pretty well for a familia that didn't dive regularly into the floors as low as we were- the men and women handed off the reigns for the horses to their co-drivers before rushing out towards the fighting. Within a few minutes, those that were too tired to continue fighting were back at the wagon train and resting. I wished that I could have sent Teams 7, 8, and 9 out to fight, but they were Supporters and the less-combat inclined; even if they were Level 2, it would do more harm than good introducing them into the Order of Battle.
We had just arrived at the staircase to the 19th Floor when I noticed that something just wasn't right. The monsters began to organize, and I felt a thrill of fear run into my belly; it appeared that the Evilus Monster Tamers leading this fight hadn't expected us to make it this far and were now making an appearance to snuff us out in earnest.
"Naaza! Lili! Get this wagon train up the stairs, NOW!" I roared out and fired a few arrows, "Be prepared to face opposition at the top of the stairs- possible Rogue Adventurers!"
Thankfully they didn't question me, and their whole demeanors changed as their faces hardened.
I had been instilling in them over the last few years the possibility that there might be Adventurers who would intentionally cause deaths for personal gain. I hinted at Evilus, or a group of selfish Adventurers, possibly being the reason behind a lot of deaths in the Floors past Rivira, and while it took some doing, I think I accomplished my goal of making them more wary and ready for anything.
I used my perch to fire off another trio of arrows before I drained my quiver dry, and I dropped my bow and empty quiver into the wagon before I drew Journeyman and took off towards the fighting at my best possible speed; I needed to get there quickly so that I could direct a fighting retreat towards the staircase. Vornir was too busy to direct them as he was contending with large groups of monsters, and just as I arrived a cloak enshrouded form threw itself at the Level 5 with surprising speed. The figure's blows were incredibly powerful if the way the it's strike lifted Vornir off the ground and shot him across the prairie was any indication; the figure took off after my familia's Level 5 with a ferocious alacrity- away from us and the rest of the fight.
Shit, we just lost our biggest asset!
"Form up! Form up! To me! TO ME!" I roared out as loud as I could, trying to shout over the din of the fighting. I had to use every last drop of speed I had to intercept the monsters that were attempting to get at the backs of my retreating men and women, but all of the years of tireless training had been worth it. So far, none of the people under my care were dead, and while they were shaken and exhausted, they could still run.
That was what mattered.
"Teams 4 and 5! Retreat towards the staircase over there! Take the climb as an opportunity to rest and imbibe some potions- there might be monsters on the other side waiting for us!" I hollered out from my position at the front, "Teams 1 and 3! You're with me here- we need to keep the monsters away from the staircase while our wagons are climbing!"
"This shit ain't natural!" One of my smiths roared out as his two-handed warhammer came down and crushed a Mad Beetle into a paste.
"No shit! This is being orchestrated!" I bit out as I ducked under Lizardman's sweeping claws to split open his belly with my blade.
"Where is Vornir-sama!" One of the few Miach familia members still with us cried out as she side-stepped a charging Battle Boar and dragged her dagger into its side as it passed.
"He's been intercepted, someone strong enough to contend with a Level 5 isn't in our wheelhouse! Our primary focus is to survive and make it back to Rivira! He can handle himself," I leaped forward and landed in a pack before unleashing the strongest spell I could. "STORM CIRCLE!"
Lightning arced out from the ground and sizzled flesh and stunned the Bugbears, Lizardmen, and Mad Beetles surrounding me. Journeyman lashed out, cutting down every target of opportunity it found as we continued our fighting retreat towards the staircase. There were more than a few wounds, but I easily parted with the healing potions I had on hand in my pouches, and it was enough to see us back to the base where Teams 4 and 5 were waiting for us; I had told them to rest, but it appeared that they just downed some potions and came back to rejoin the fight.
"Bell-sama! You're a Mage, right?!" One of the Miach members yelled out as we approached- wait, what was Mushi-san doing down here? The cat-kin waved my Songwood stave above her white-covered head, and I was surprised because my hand reached over my shoulder where my staff should have been but wasn't. Fuck me, I had left it on the wagon!?
Wait, the straps I used to hold it on my person were attached to the webbing that I used for my bow holster and quiver, so when I dropped them I dropped my staff as well! Welp, that was going to get fixed when we got back!
"Hold at the base, give me a minute of time! I don't have any offensive spells, but I can buff, rejuvenate, and heal!" The Songwood smacked into my palm after Mushi threw it with surprising accuracy, "The wagons are still going up, so we can't retreat until they clear the staircase! HOLD THE LINE!"
The six combat teams we had formed up- they were only 24 strong, 25 with me included. "Exhausted teams to the rear, everyone else up front!"
"My aura is the aura that solidifies the bonds around me."
"Magic begets Magic."
"Magic strengthens Magic."
"A pact as old as time is once again revealed to the world."
"Let all who cast here find their Magics brought to the peak!"
"Magician's Wonder."
The purple haze of my magic filled the air as a magic-boosting zone 12 meters in diameter came into being. The monsters that were persuing us had dwindled in number, but considering I spotted four Trolls at the back lumbering towards us we needed the small fry dealt with and everyone healed so that I could fight them.
"I'm about to cast a healing magic. Teams not fighting cluster in tightly! Quickly!"
"All hail the spirits of the forest,"
"The keepers of the mountains,"
"The carpet of the earth,"
"Let the unfortunate feel the relief of your healing breath,"
"Let the cuts be mended, the bruises be healed,"
"O' great spirits of the forest, come to me,"
"Let the sintered bone be splint, let the blood be returned,"
"Rejoice in this harmony, for the whispers of Gaia shall bring thee peace,"
"Forest Breeze."
Teams 4, 5, and 6 hopped close and packed in, shoulder to shoulder and nut to butt, just as my spell completed, and all of their wounds vanished in a matter of seconds, and a second wind filled their lungs almost on par with a Stamina Potion. "Teams 5 and 6, get back out there. Team 4, standby for buffs."
The two dwarves and two humans gave me a grave nod as their fellows ranged out to get back into the fight, Teams 1, 2, and 3 were already starting to flag again and were steadily giving ground. "Hands on me, you four."
"Firm is the body that carries the weight of the world."
"On our shoulders rest the responsibility of protecting Heaven and freeing the earth."
"Strong backs do not bow."
"Strong shoulders do not yield."
"Strong arms do not falter."
"Strong legs do not break."
"Go forth, Children of the Lower World,"
"Let the song of spirits buoy your spirits!"
"Total Body!"
The Total Body spell could raise all the stats of a single person by 1 and 1/2 Letter Grades except for Magic. While it wasn't as powerful as Dwarven Might or Fairy Grace, it was definitely more well-rounded. When used in the Magician's Wonder spell it was improved by 30%, and when combined with the Mage Developmental Ability? It was improved by almost double- 75% if I had to guess.
When split four ways it gave out a little more than 75 Stat Points to Strength, Endurance, Dexterity, and Agility. "Go! Send Teams 1 and 2 back here!"
"Forest Breeze." "Total Body." Teams 1 and 2 were healed and rejuvenated, while Team 1 was buffed and sent back out.
Team 3 and some wounded members of Team 4 and 5 were sent back and they too were healed while Team 3 was buffed and sent back.
I had to abandon the Magician's Wonder on more than a few occasions to clear out clumps of monsters that were rolling towards the groups in a murder-ball, and when the Trolls finally arrived on scene I managed to heal two more teams before buffing myself a full 3 Letter Grades- Trolls were strong and slow, but they were incredibly hearty; a five-man team of Level 2s is needed to outpace their regeneration, and while I was worth more than a five-man team of Level 2s, I had to fight four of them at once. "I've got the Trolls! Nobody die while I'm away, not after all the hard work I put into keeping your bastards alive!"
There was a chorus of roars that chased my ears as I cut my way through the thickest tendril of Bugbears and Battle Boars that were moving towards my men and I shot towards the Trolls like a rocket- the first one went down, exploding into ash- my longsword was just enough to pierce through its sternum and into it's magic core; I wouldn't have enough time or space to do it again, so it was the old fashioned way.
Exhaust their regeneration.
Jump back, then kick off the ground and more forward- lance through the kneecap, bring the 4-meter tall beast low, and open up its thigh with a rising slash as it falls. Change target, low sweep at the ankle, cut tendons, roll to the side to avoid landform club. Pierce calf of the closest Troll and yank the blade down and out.
This dance lasted for almost five minutes, but I still was able to keep an eye on the fight at the base of the staircase- the wagon train had cleared the stairs but it appeared that my men and women were holding their positions just because they could now; the number of monsters had been slowing the moment we got to the staircase, but they were down to a trickle now. Maybe 40 or 50 monsters left; spread between them they should be fine.
Whoever had been directing the monsters had left long ago- probably the cloaked individual that dragged Vornir from the fight.
Thankfully, the Trolls were on the losing end of this fight, as I had been able to inflict significant damage to them while avoiding everything they sent my way- my spells would last another ten minutes, which was more than enough. Though, if I'm being honest, I would have gotten fucked a few times there without the additional 300 and some change Stat Points; some of those clubs and kicks came far too close for comfort.
Two trolls went down as their healing factors gave out on them, but the final one was incredibly stubborn; even missing his hand having his foot cut off the fucker was still warding me off with his club, even down on his knees. Only a spear impacting his cheek gave me the opening I needed to sprint inside his guard and open him up from his floating ribs to his hip- I slid between his legs as his body collapsed onto the ground before fading into ash.
I let out a sigh of relief as I spotted Team 1, the majority of them members from my familia, jogging over with insane grins on their faces. "We did it, lad!"
A laugh left my lips as Bodie, a Level 2 half-dwarf smith, hefted me up and spun me around with what appeared to be the last vestiges of his strength. "Calm down, calm down, Bodie. We still have work to do yet."
I healed everyone up, gave them another magically induced shot of adrenaline, and then buffed them all for the full amount that my Total Body spell could muster. I had to chug down three Mind Potions and recast Magician's Wonder once more to boost the effects of the spells, but it was worth it in my eyes; out there in the fields, we fought across were hundreds upon hundreds of monster cores and Drop Items.
We still have space in some of the wagons, so leaving behind 30 to 35 Million valis or more was not something I was going to allow; we were all tired, but there was always time for the spoils of our victory.
That and I needed to look for Vormir.
I sent a runner up the staircase to inform Naaza of our success and told them to hold out until we could gather the scattered cores and Drop Items; thankfully the 20th Floor was rather tame compared to the other Floors of the Large Tree Labyrinth, so I didn't feel like I was leaving the Supporters underprotected while they moved about under the watchful eyes of their tired but triumphant fighting peers.
With my Songwood staff in one hand and Journeyman in the other, I moved back towards where the rolling battle began, stopping to pick up a few monster cores I could spot that were in odd places, and then I followed the destruction that could only be caused by two Level 5s duking it out. Large furrows were torn through the forest, great tears rent into the stone- some of the low-land swampy areas were devoid of water as great impacts had scattered it.
After about five minutes of careful travel- I wasn't about to get choked out by some Creeping Vines thank you very much- I came across my former familia Captain leaning against a boulder with a Mind Potion in hand. The old, one-eyed dwarf gave me a bloody grin after he tossed the potion back. "Hey there, laddie. Spare some healing for this poor dwarf?"
I immediately got to work. "Magician's Wonder." "Forest Breeze." "Total Body."
Vornir breathed a great sigh of relief as I ran through my current rotation of spells. "Sorry but that is the best I can do. We ran through our High Potions in the running battle. You'll have to settle for Mid-Grade spell healing until we can get scalped for a High-Grade at Rivira, old man."
He chuckled and grabbed onto my shoulder firmly so that he could use me as a way to prop himself up- his left leg was pretty fucked up from what I could see; my healing spell had done little for his bones, but it did lessen the pain enough that when combined with the 3 extra Letter Grades of Endurance he could tough it out and hobble back with me. "So did you see who you were fighting?"
"Aye. A pretty lass, strong too, crafty as can be, that one." The old smith grunted, "Caught me by surprise a few times during the fight- she might have broken me leg, but I broke her spine with my hammer. Heh heh. Bitch couldn't do more than crawl away- I woulda' done her in good and proper, but she just so happened to crawl away from me faster than I could crawl after her."
"T'was a pretty little ass to chase after though, let me tell you that. I burned those cheeks into me eye! Ha!"
We rested up at Rivira, spoke to another one-eyed man by the name of Bors Elder, the de facto leader of Rivira, and spread the warnings around; be on the lookout for cloaked figures and suspicious monster activity.
Spoiler: Bors Elder
[img: https/static.wikia./dungeon-ni-deai-o-motomeru/images/5/55/Bors_Elder_1_-_SO_ep04.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/1000?cb=20220102012755]
Not that they could do much to fight against the cloaked woman, but with one of the Miach familia member's talents at drawing combined with Vornir's trap-like mind we were able to put together a composite sketch of the woman who I remembered being named 'Revis'.
Spoiler: Revis
[img: https/static.wikia./dungeon-ni-deai-o-motomeru/images/e/e6/Revis_Character_Art.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/673?cb=20170607231400]
Of course, they gave us space to rest, and we traded some of our smithing skills to reforge some weapons and make some new ones for food, clean water, the High Potions we needed to unfuck Vornir's leg. I made over two dozen of my longswords out of some High-Steel they had on hand, and a dozen of my shortswords as well.
After three days of resting up we journeyed back to the surface and were met with little fanfare- some of them looked quite sad that there wasn't a ticker-tape parade waiting for them on the surface. What were they expecting? To be greeted back with the sounds of uproarious applause like they were the Freya or Loki familias? I mean, don't get me wrong, the battle we survive was something great, but it wasn't like we just made it to the 50th Floor or anything else spectacular.
Vornir and I handed over a report along with the sketch of Revis to the Guild, and I told Eina Tulle that she might want to make sure that Ouranos sees the report and passes it along to the Loki and Freya familias; whether Fels would didn't matter, the ball was out of my court now and into theirs.
We also walked away from that expedition over 350 Million richer just from the monster cores alone, and we ended up keeping all of the Drop Items because, well, we were going to use them, of course!
The Hephaestus and Miach familias came out of that hellish battle stronger than they went in- of the 40 Level 2s that went down there, 15 of them came back up Level 3s, 11 of which were Hephaestus smiths and 4 of them were Miach's Children. There were celebrations throughout the familia as the smiths got drunk and told their progressively more outlandish and spectacular tales about how they went from fighting a large monster party to arm wrestling the Goliath, causing the monster to feel such intense shame at its loss that the beast ripped out its own monster core and offer it up to the Hephaestus familia in tribute.
It was a fair bit of fun, and I ended up getting a visit from Sooka and Khemi once they heard that I had returned. The Dungeon lifestyle was agreeing with them, and they positively glowed as we all exchanged stories about our experiences while I forged some weapons for the Guild; the reason I was doing that was that I really didn't want to be involved with the refinement and smelting processes of the ore we had brought back.
As long as I was contributing something, in this case forging weapons to put out on the market, I could dodge that particular bullet- the heat of my forge was far, far more palatable than the large smelting furnaces in the refinement warehouses of the smithing district.
Miss me with that hot shit.
Tiona and Tione visited the next day to get some maintenance done on their weapons, and by maintenance, I meant complete rebuilds because those two brutes really put a hurt on my babies. I now understood the tears that Goibnu cried when Tiona said "Tee-Hee" in response to her destroying Urga on the 50th Floor. I wasn't going to fall into that trap, no, once I got Level 5 and learned how to enchant shit, Durandal was going on everything that I made for those two battle maniacs.
I just needed Level 5 and the Magic Blacksmith Developmental Ability, and all of those neat enchantments and the ability to make Magic Swords would be mine!
A/N: Whew, took me longer than usual to put this one out. I had a bad day yesterday- the rain had been hitting us recently, and the sun hadn't been seen in days. Just led to one of those really depressing "bleh" days where you don't want to do a damn fucking thing. I sat down to write and I could barely push out a page before I got up away from my computer and went to do something else. Today was much better though, the sun was out, I did some shopping, helped out the parents. I felt good after a nice burger and a nap, and here we are, one more chapter completed.
Special thanks to Artillery, Dinero1121, Xodarap4, LMC 9389, DrkShadow, AuraofCalm, Markus, Zerak, R.Bulut, Chair Connoisseur, Omar, Zath, Splended, D. Wongsonegoro, AjiTae, Darkarma, Pope Yoda I for being Patrons!
You guys rock!
Chapter 7 - Foundations for Crafting
[Bell Winters]
It's been roughly seven months since our ambush at the hands of Evilus in the Dungeon, and while I did my best to not use up all of my "Pls, Tsubaki-nee Save Me" points I inevitably did. Considering I had been swarmed by a flock of Iguazu on the 27th Floor there wasn't much I could do there; the monsters were about the size of a seagull and they looked like a red-feathered swallow. They had a teardrop-shaped body and what made them deadly was their preferred method of killing- they oriented themselves towards their unfortunate target and shot themselves through the air with a speed that rivaled a modern-day bullet; their drill-like beaks could punch clean through anything short of thick Damascus plate armor.
The monsters died on impact with whatever their target was, so while that was a unique blessing, it was cold comfort when you had a baseball-sized hole torn through your body. They were so damn fast that even with my well-above-the-norm Level 3 stats and Total Body bolstering me they were red blurs that I could barely track, so the key for me to fighting them at all was to either kill them with an arrow while they were roosting or to draw them out one at a time; they were incredibly quick in a straight line, but their attack patterns made them utterly predictable- I forged a one-inch thick Damascus kite shield and let them kill themselves on it like birds with a window.
Their feathers were incredibly sought after in the fashion circles of Orario's crafting familias, so it was always worth it to try and kill a few dozen when their feathers were worth roughly fifty thousand valis a piece; you might get two or three feathers for your troubles, but the drop rates were pretty high, and considering they were feathers it had one of the highest weight-to-valis ratios for a drop item.
I ended up tossing a rock a little too close to a larger roosting point and instead of three or four there ended up being almost forty of the flying bastards; Tsubaki had to step in and help me out more than five times during the course of that extended fight because despite my strength if three of the birds impacted my shield at the same time it was more than enough to force my arm out of position. While I was wearing a Killer Ant treated Orc hide cuirass with a Damascus/Light Metal alloy chainmail shirt that wouldn't have stopped the Iguazu from tearing right through me.
I was just a touch (read: very ) morose about having to get a Status Update following my colossal failure- burning through all five of my "Save Me!" points in a single short engagement was galling; doubly so considering I'd gone 13 months without needing an update entirely.
The only thing that soothed me, besides getting a big ol' hug from my Tsubaki-nee, was the knowledge that even a seasoned Level 4 would have difficulties soloing the 27th Floor; a lot of monsters in the Water City could kill most Level 3s without much issue if they weren't careful, and while the numbers never reached the large groups that a Monster Party in the Large Tree Labyrinth they more than made up for it in sheer lethality.
Bell Winters (Cranel)
Level 3 - Level 4 (Eligible)
Strength: 0 I - 793 B
Endurance: 0 I - 866 A
Dexterity: 0 I - 902 S
Agility: 0 I - 879 A
Magic: 0 I - 999 S
Developmental Ability:
- Blacksmith H - G: Gain improved blacksmithing skills with small increases to the durability of all crafted items. Gain the ability to forge weapons, armor, and items from Monster Drop Items. Gain the ability to imbue additional strength, durability, and other effects from Monster Drop Items into weapons, armor, and items.
- Mage I - H: Gain improved Mind total, Mind Control, Spell Efficacy, and Spell Efficiency through the manifestation of a localized spell circle when casting a spell or an ability that consumes Mind.
Skills:
- "Lead the Way": Pathfinding, navigation, hunting, and tracking are much easier for you, and you gain a small bonus to Strength, Dexterity, and Agility when wielding ranged weaponry.
- "Pathfinder's Determination" : Increases the effects of Skills and Developmental Abilities when focused on a single goal.
"Not bad for 13 months' worth of work," I spoke as I stared down at the sheet of paper in my hand and nodded to myself, "I'm guessing maybe four more months and I'll have everything maxed out?"
I hadn't set a goal of a 12-month Rank Up, per se, but that was generally the time frame that I wanted to get it since I didn't have Realis Phrase to bolster my growth to obscene levels. However, I needed to be realistic with my desires so that I didn't get bogged down- I was splitting my time between Archery, Swordsmanship, Magic, Tutoring, and Blacksmithing; if I only had to worry about the first three there was no doubt in my mind that I'd be able to improve faster.
As far as Adventurers went I was incredibly generalized, epitomizing the maxim of "Jack of All Trades, Master of None"; many would argue that I was spreading myself too thin with all of the work I was doing, and they wouldn't be wrong, but I rather liked having options.
If I'm being honest with myself I think that my Unique Skill, Pathfinder's Determination , was putting in a lot of work behind the scenes that weren't readily apparent unless I was looking for the signs- I never really got bored, and when I set my mind to something I was able to find the willpower and muster the energy to see it through. I remembered the days back in the Army when I'd get burnt out after month-long training exercises and six-month deployments to Afghanistan, and yet here I was, able to put in twelve to fourteen hours a day practicing a variety of different disciplines without feeling too out of sorts.
"Hee, hee, hee," I felt a calloused hand muss up my white hair, and I tilted my head to look up at the grinning visage of my elder sister Tsubaki; the woman was all smiles- she must have won some sort of betting pool or something for her grin to be that broad, "I'd say that I am surprised to see that your Magic stat is already maxed out, Bell-kichi, but considering you use your magic every time you can I think that is pretty much on par with what I've come to expect from you."
"Just rachet up the pressure on me a little bit higher, why don't you, Baki-nee." I groused good-naturedly as I reached up and gave her wrist a gentle squeeze. I leaned to the side and stretched my arm out to hand the paper back to Hephaestus, and when the half-dwarf released my noggin I stood up from the Ranking Chair and slipped my shirt back over my shoulders before tucking it back into my pants. My eyes slipped around my Goddess' office, tracking over the weapons mounted on the walls- Hephaestus had a "Weapon of the Year" contest and she would take the winners of each Level and would put it up on her wall until the next contest; the weapons would either be returned to their smith or they could be put up for auction.
It was a prestigious thing, to be given such an award, and the winners more often than not found themselves with new business after their pieces made their way out to the public auction houses. I, unfortunately, being a Level 3, found myself in the bracket with the stiffest competition; almost sixty percent of my familia's blacksmiths were Level 3, and that was before the events of the 20th Floor where eleven of my familia members gained their Rank Up.
"Thinking about what you'll be doing for this year's competition, Bell-kun?" Hephaestus hummed, drawing my attention away from the wall and back towards my Goddess' lone, twinkling eye.
I shrugged my shoulders, "Well, I won't be winning anything until I finish my certifications with you, Hephaestus-sama. However, that isn't to say that I don't have a few ideas in mind."
There was only a week left of my Nosteel, Heroic Alloy, and Hihiirokane certification classes that I had been undertaking along with my current smithing, training, and Dungeon diving responsibilities; I could have probably been cleared to work with the magical metals a month ago, but there were certain formalities that needed to be observed. My Goddess held the classes once a week in a six-month cycle, and she would teach you everything there was to know about the new materials, how they were structured, their uses in weapons and armor, how to work the materials, and so on and so forth. They were incredibly comprehensive and involved just as much time in the classroom as it did in the forge, and Hephaestus had incredibly high standards, so if you were going to take a Certification class then you better bring your A-Game and be prepared to buckle down.
Most of the smiths in the familia took one course every few years, but me being the ambitious little munchkin that I was decided that I would take all three of them at the same time. It was incredibly difficult balancing all of my responsibilities, but the information retention exercises and schooling that I'd done in my previous life helped prepare me for the rigorous schooling. That and it didn't hurt in the fact that Heroic Alloy and Hiihirokane were actually incredibly similar in their material composition and structure; while I wasn't exactly a metallurgist the two materials were more like a magical titanium than anything else, and because of that a lot of the "textbook" information was shared between the pair with only a few differences.
My Goddess interlaced her fingers in front of her on top of her desk and she gave me a warm smile, "Well, your final examinations will be soon, next week in fact, so you'll be able to work with the materials to your heart's content afterward."
"Eh, I'm not worried at all, Kami-sama," Tsubaki puffed out her chest as she placed her hands on her hips, "Bell-kichi will ace those tests, no problem!"
The dark-skinned woman closed her eye and nodded her head, "Yup, no problem! Besides, he's got a wittle pwomise two kweep wit' his wittle Aiz-chan~!"
I felt my soul die just a little as I schooled my features to the best of my abilities; my cheeks colored a touch despite my efforts. "Tsubaki-nee, I thought you said you weren't going to keep teasing me about that? It's pretty hurtful, yanno?"
Hephaestus had workshops that taught the basics of armor-smithing every quarter for the smiths of the familia who felt inclined to learn; while some were more than happy to dedicate themselves to making the best weapons possible, as a High-Class Adventurer's Endurance often made most armor superfluous, there were certainly those like me who thought that the additional weight was more than worth the extra sweat shed to carry it around.
I wouldn't say that there was a "type" of blacksmith that looked to build armor in a world where armor was more of an afterthought, or worse, a fashion statement, but they typically tended to be the smiths that had their lives saved by a good, sturdy set of armor while in the Dungeon.
They also tended to be the smiths that would either dive frequently into the Dungeon on their own or would join the monthly Hephaestus/Miach familia journey down to the Large Tree Labyrinth, and that gave them a lot more recent combat experience than some of the older Level 3s and Level 4s were lacking. While I didn't want to disparage the men and women who decided to become "Forge Monkeys" and forsake stepping foot in the Dungeon in favor of living by their anvils… over time there has grown to be a disconnect between them and the smiths that have been colloquially named "Bell's Boys (and Girls)".
In my personal opinion, those smiths had grown to view the Dungeon with rose-tinted glasses, those men and women have forgotten most of the struggles and hardship that Adventurers face down there in that hell hole, and it showed in their work more often than not; their weapons were increasingly bulky and overly ornamented. While they are certainly excellent works, they were more fit to be display pieces hanging over some wealthy Divine's mantle than down in the Dungeon killing monsters. Not that they couldn't kill monsters, as they were indeed weapons made with excellent materials, but it was as if they had forgotten that Adventurers don't care about gold filigree and silver inlays; the men and women risking their lives in the Dungeons only cared for lethality, durability, and ergonomics.
Everything else was secondary.
It was quite a shock to me that in my push to get the Hephaestus familia more self-sufficient by taking monthly expeditions into the Dungeon I had inadvertently created a rift in the familia between those that wanted to still go on adventures and those that were content to smith for those that did. It was pretty telling even for the people on the streets who purchased our products- the Hephaestus stores in the Tower of Babel all used to sell the highest-valis products they could, but now there was a clear delineation; half of the stock in a shop would have premium pieces from the "Forge Monkeys" and the other half would have more utilitarian pieces.
Somewhere along the way the smiths in my "camp" had taken a page from my book and began making weapons and armor that were built to last and reasonable for almost every budget; it didn't net them nearly as much valis, and they ended up losing even more on the back-end as Adventurers didn't need to have their weapons replaced as often thanks to the sturdier construction, but what it did do was grant us a lot of goodwill with not just the Guild but with the smaller familias as well.
Ultimately it was a short-term loss that I think has ended up becoming a long-term gain for the familia as a whole; because of the shift to higher quality, more durable goods my familia's popularity with the general Adventuring populace has climbed sky-high. It's gotten to the point where most Adventurers won't purchase anything else, and because of that the Kagu-tsuchi, Goibnu, and other smithing familias have all begun copying our style in order to keep pace.
Probably not a good thing for our familia's profit margins, but competition bred enthusiasm, and with that innovation.
"Aw, I'm sorry, Bell-kichi," Tsubaki guffawed as she reached down and grasped the sides of my head so that she could lean down and plant a wet, sloppy kiss on my forehead, "I know I did, but ribbing you on your desire to make the Sword Princess' armor sooner rather than later is just too cute!"
Considering the difference in strength between my Familia Captain and myself there wasn't much else I could do except take the distilled condescension with dignity and grace.
I most definitely did not squirm.
When she finally released me I wiped her spit off with the back of my hand, "Well, maybe if you'd find some time in your busy schedule to help me with my armor training I wouldn't be in such a hurry?"
I'd asked her to help me out, but Tsubaki, while more than capable of tutoring me in how to make better armor, had decided to beg off of it, thus forcing me to attend the workshops and poke the sleeping bear of smithing that was my former Familia Captain Vornir; the man bore my frequent questions and constant pestering with dignity and grace, but other than a few tips and tricks here and there I hadn't made much more progress on finalizing the design of Aiz Wallenstein's armor in the past seven months.
Over time I had a small well of guilt building within the pit of my stomach, one that grew in size each time I poked my head into his workshop to ask him a few questions; he assured me that the only stupid question was the one not asked, but the man was incredibly busy with projects of his own.
It didn't stop me from asking, as it was always best to get information from a subject matter expert, but the feeling remained.
"Eeeehh… you know I don't like armor, Bell-kichi," Tsubaki waved her hand, "I mean, sure, I'll make some if a client requests it, but I'm more of a weapon smith; something sharp, heavy, and bladed is more my speed. If you want me to help you make a new sword? I'll be more than happy to help, but sitting around and debating about which stitching to use for a padded gambeson just isn't much fun for me."
The woman popped her neck with her hands before she strode towards the doors to our Goddess' office, "Especially when the materials are just going to be wasted the moment she Ranks Up; what would have protected her on her previous floors just won't hold up, and the whole outfit will have to be redone."
The half-dwarf gave me an apologetic smile before she turned her attention to Hephaestus, "Is there anything you need me for before I go, Kami-sama?"
Hephaestus' blinked, and the black-gloved fingers on her right hand rose up to stroke her chin. The sounds of parchment being shifted around on her desk filled the room for a few moments before she shook her head, "No, I don't think there is, Tsubaki-chan. Just make sure to remind Vornir-kun that the Gulliver brothers will be stopping by his forge later on this evening to get fitted for their weapons and armor."
The door clicked shut and a small sigh escaped my lips as I scrubbed a hand through my hair, my eyes not leaving the polished brass door handle, "I know I take up a lot of her time already, Kami-sama, so am I being unreasonable asking her to help me out?"
I stiffened a little bit when my Goddess' arms wrapped around my shoulders and I was pulled firmly against her belly; the knot that had formed in my gut slowly unraveling as one of her gloved hands came up and carded through my hair soothingly, "Don't hold it against her, Bell-kun, but she has other things on her mind right now; it would be prudent of you to not pry, alright?"
Ignoring the positively delightful way her bosom pressed against my neck I shook my head, "I understand, Hephaestus-sama, and I won't; she's a woman grown- if she wants my help with whatever it is she's handling then she'll ask."
"Good, good," The Goddess planted a firm kiss on the top of my head before she squeezed my shoulders firmly, "Now, to get a handle on your need craft the perfect set of armor for Aiz Wallenstein."
I shrugged my shoulders, "Tsubaki-nee won't help, Vornir-sama can't help, Goldrin-dono, Shimi-dono, and Haruki-dono are busy with their own orders… and Darlene-dono is out of the smithy on her maternity leave; I don't know of anyone else who has the proper certifications as well as a desire to actually craft the style of armor I'm looking to make."
"There are others who could help, Bell-kun, but they don't wish to," Her lips twisted into a soft grimace.
Translation: They didn't want to help out the familia's golden child.
I'd only been in the familia for a few years now and I've made a lot of waves, ruffling more than a few feathers in the process. Not that they were all salty, sour pusses- most of them were of the generation that believed in failure being the best teacher, and thusly didn't believe in just handing out knowledge. Others were, in my mind, just angry that I'd rocked the boat; they had been able to coast along with the current state of affairs before my arrival, but the paradigm shift within the familia had suddenly drawn a spotlight on them- no longer could they do the bare minimum in regards to their obligations and just skate under the radar.
She stepped away from me and circled around her desk again, the woman displaying just how damn quiet she could be when she wanted; the floor was stone and she had on her usual heeled boots, but I'll be damned if she wasn't as quiet as a cat on the prowl. Instead, the sound of wood on wood filled the air as she pulled open a drawer and pulled out a small envelope with a golden wax seal on the back of it.
The Goddess held it out to me and I took it gingerly.
"That right there is a letter from myself addressed to the Goddess Arachne, the Divine of the Arachne familia. She owes me more than a few favors, and I know for a fact that her Captain is more than capable of providing you with the assistance you're looking for," The red-haired woman scratched at the bottom of her eye patch as a wan smile tugged at her lips, "Her name is Trisha Gothold, and she used to be one of my Children before she decided that fashion was more her passion than metalworking."
Hephaestus blew out a small breath that brushed her bangs away from her face and she sat down in her chair with a huff, "Just take that letter to their shop, the Holy Diver, on the 8th floor- the Arachne familia's luxury boutique is there just down the corridor from Forge Fire; you remember where that's at, yes?"
I almost rolled my eyes- how could I forget about Forge Fire? It was the premier Hephaestus familia boutique in the Tower of Babel; if one of your pieces was there then you were a made man. That's where Tsubaki and Vornir sold their wares, and boy oh boy were there a lot of zeros attached to their products; for someone who was throwing around millions of valis every week from my dives and profits from my blades just seeing the price tags on those weapons and armors made my eyes water.
Still, it was a wonderful little field trip that impressed a lot of children who'd been attending Hephaestus' classes with me during my first year.
"Yes, Kami-sama, I do remember," I held the letter out in front of me and stared at it for a second before I grabbed my leather coat off of the end table next to the Status Update chair and tucked it into the interior breast pocket, "Should I wait to deliver this a certain amount of time?"
Her lips quirked into a little bit of a smirk as her right arm crossed under her bosom while her left hand went up to cradle her chin, "You should probably wait until you have your certifications first."
[Three Weeks later]
My eyes are bleeding, as are my fingers.
No, it is more accurate to say that my fingers are cramping.
So. Much. Backstitching.
I don't think I truly understood the great pains that one had to go through in order to live in the world of fashion, but I think I have a pretty good idea now.
My certifications were done, and I passed my Goddess' test by making one of my patented no-frills longswords- one of Nosteel, one of Heroic Alloy, and one from Hiihirokane; the Nosteel was the trickiest of the bunch due to how it acted when brought up to temperature… no matter how hard you pounded the thing the magical steel seemed to move sluggishly. It formed the blade exactly how I wanted it, but it didn't form quickly- it took me almost twice as long to forge the Nosteel longsword as it did the other ones! It was frustrating, to say the least, and it wasn't like I didn't know that Nosteel was considered a "somewhat lazy metal" to begin with, but being lectured to about it and having a literal Goddess of the Forge demonstrate it didn't do the metal nearly any justice.
Nosteel was sluggish while the other two metals in its same bracket- Heroic Alloy and Hiihirokane- were snappy and responsive, but the magical metals were magical metals, and that meant that they got to be picky; Hiihirokane almost universally accepted anyone from the Far East while Heroic Alloy preferred those of a more… heroic bent. Nosteel just accepted everyone and would do whatever anyone asked if they didn't mind its magical properties being a little lethargic.
Regardless, I passed my final examination and got my certifications, and when I had some free time the following day I grabbed my sketchbook along with the various designs that I'd drawn up for Aiz Wallenstein's Saber Lily cospla- armored outfit and headed over to the Tower of Babel and ascended the elevator so that I could head toward the Holy Diver boutique of the Arachne familia.
The 8th floor was the last of the commercial floor space for the Tower, with every floor from the 9th through the 47th floors being distributed for personal apartments from the Divines in Orario that were wealthy enough to afford the astronomical rents; the last three floors were, according to Hephaestus, used as the neutral ground for all Divines, though it was primarily used as the meeting place for functions like Denatus and for the War Games.
Spoiler: Tower of Babel - 8th Floor
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The display cases that showed off the hilariously gaudy and expensive weaponry forged by my familia members abruptly gave way to display cases showing off hilariously gaudy and expensive clothing manufactured by the Arachne familia. However, just like cases displaying my familia's wares had some beautiful and functional weapons and armors so too did the Arachne familia- if anything I saw a beautiful emerald-colored strapless dress that would look dashing on Tsubaki-nee.
While the number of zeroes attached to it was high for clothing, it was far more palatable than some of the dir-Adamantium daggers on display just a few cases over; I made a note to ask Hephaestus for Tsubaki's measurements because she would know that I wouldn't be asking for nefarious purposes.
Thought if I bought Tsubaki-nee a dress then that meant I would have to purchase a new dress for all of my brides-to-be; even if Tiona hadn't quite yet joined the wolf-pack officially she pretty much hung out in my forge when she wasn't diving, training, or doing other things with the Loki familia. Tione spent more time with her peers, no doubt trying to get her Captain's attention, but knowing what I know about the man it is a lost cause to try and get his attention; if anything I'll probably be having to fight off his advances towards Liliruca once she grows up a little bit more and achieves her first Rank Up… it should be any day now- she has the High Quality excelia for it she just needs to finish maxing her Magic and Strength stats and she'll be good to go!
Hmmm… one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, and Tsubaki- ah, shit, I'll have to get Hephaestus one too… that's… 37 million valis for ten dresses of the same quality. I can make upwards of two and a half valis a day with my dives down to the 27th Floor after Guild taxes and familia tithes… so it would take me about fifteen days to pay for all of these dresses. Doable, most certainly, but fucking A that's a lot of money.
Still though, these are the most important women in my life, and it would be in poor taste for me to not show my appreciation for them! I already handle all of their equipment and weapon needs, so now that I look after their health and safety when they're in the Dungeon I can look after their morale and welfare on the surface with some beautiful dresses.
Though if I get them dresses it's going to look out of place without at least some modest jewelry to go along with it-
Fuck.
I was dragged out of my musing when I had finally crossed the threshold of the Holy Diver and I was immediately hit in the nose with the scent of fresh, clean linens and lavender. I blinked and looked around and saw bolts upon bolts of various fabrics in a wide variety of colors and patterns; silk, cotton of differing thread counts, wool, cashmere, and a whole bunch of other shit that I didn't even know the name of.
Spoiler: Holy Diver - Just with more 'Fantasy'
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To be frank it was kind of intimidating- I got the same thrill in the pit of my belly when I looked at a fully stocked blacksmithing forge for the first time, but as with the forge this uneasiness was something that would fade away with time and familiarity.
Or so I had thought.
No, my ill feelings would be realized in the shape of the woman who was to be my teacher and her Goddess who gave me some very strange vibes; Arachne didn't look like Medea of Colchis in the slightest, but her desire to dress up cute things was just as strong.
Spoiler: Arachne - Goddess of Weaving
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I ran afoul of her because despite my Adventurer's physique with my baby face, exotic white hair, and red eyes I fell firmly into the category of 'cute' as long as there was enough fabric on my body to hide my muscular frame.
However, if I was creeped out over Arachne then I was broken by Trisha Gothold.
Spoiler: Trisha Gothold - Familia Captain
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"Again."
I had been drawn into her orbit, her soft brown hair, watery blue eyes, and calm, motherly smile set me instantly at ease.
"Again."
She earned plenty of goodwill from me when she damn near punched her Goddess out of the window when she brought out a butler uniform for me to wear; the prospect of modeling in exchange for lessons wasn't something I was unwilling to do, but pants shouldn't have to be painted onto a little boy's bottom.
"Again. This time double the stitching, Winters-kun."
However, it was all a facade. A beautiful veneer of a civilized woman that hid a monster of fashion underneath. Everything that I'd seen in clips of fashion reality TV shows in my past life, the snippets of "visionaries" being wholly unreasonable while trying to turn garbage bags into dresses worthy of "displaying the suffering of mother Gaia"- had nothing on Trisha Gothold.
"Again. You will not let your needle anywhere near the Sword Princess, not while you still haven't managed to hem a straight line!"
The worst part about all of this was that despite being an utter perfectionist about every little detail, I honestly can't say that I hated her for the hellish fashion camp she was putting me through… if anything it just made me respect the hell out of her even more for it; her Goddess asked her to train me as a favor to my Goddess… and Trisha pulled no punches.
She took into consideration my current skills and abilities and then put together a training program that would help me achieve what I was setting out to achieve.
Funnily enough, she absolutely loved "my" designs for Aiz Wallenstein's outfit.
Spoiler: Aiz "Lily"
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I pretty much blatantly ripped off Arturia's Saber Lily costume but made sure to keep her arms and legs covered; a thin body suit with a padded gambeson over the top of that, with a chainmail, long-sleeved shirt that was encased in fabric would be the final layer before the segmented chest plate. Thankfully the design wasn't boob armor, so I didn't have to change much; though the sabaton design was a touch problematic, so I flattened them out a little bit, reduced the curvature just a touch, and that made it possible for me to include an integrated LBE system; Aiz Wallenstein would now have pouches to store important things.
She didn't even know she needed pouches, but once she has pouches she won't want to live without them.
Muhahahahahahaha~.
Anyways, I showed Trisha the sketches, advancing the age of Aiz as best as I could imagine, and as the Sword Princess grew older she would transition to a more Saber-like costume, trading in the silvers and whites of her youth for the royal purples and golds, and if she grew up to be a stacked beauty then maybe a more Lancer-esque look would not be amiss.
She liked them, a lot, but unfortunately, she'd seen the part of the sketchbook that I hadn't really intended for anyone to see.
She saw my homage to the various versions of the hand-knit turtleneck sweater (and sweater dress). Both with and without sleeves.
Spoiler: I made a wonderful mistake…
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Honestly, it gained me some bonus points, and in her eyes that just meant that I was more capable than she had initially thought… which meant that she whipped me hard and harder than ever.
I measured.
"Again."
I cut.
"Wrong. Try again."
I stitched.
"Again."
Oh, lord have I stitched. I did a lot of my sewing and stitching when I was in the Army, if only because like hell I was going to pay forty bucks for the Korean ladies at the PX to sew on a single patch! I ended up doing most of my own work, and while it was good enough to pass my uniform inspections without the Sergeant Major curling his lip in disgust, whatever skills I thought I had were being thoroughly dismantled by my teacher.
It was cool though because she was more than willing to work around my schedule, though I had to push my dungeon time ahead a few hours which meant that Tsubaki couldn't accompany me into the Dungeon four days a week like she usually did. However, considering I was borderline for maxing out my stats, when I used my Total Body spell there wasn't much there that could threaten me at this point; while an average Level 4 might have issues soloing the Water City, I wasn't the average Adventurer. I still made mistakes, yes, however, I was able to push myself to the limit time and time again, and because of that I actually knew what I could and couldn't do.
Without Tsubaki-nee I would have been dead a long time ago, but she understood my reasoning and more importantly she understand that my methodology worked, and considering the Zeus and Hera familias had used it to great effect she watched over me and kept me from getting in over my head, but for the most part she let me fuck up… and for that, I'll be eternally grateful.
"You need to work on your chain stitch some more, Winters-kun; it is a touch uneven." Trisha's voice knocked me out of my thoughts and I looked up at her for a moment before I looked back down and realized that I'd fucked up. Thankfully it was a scrap piece of fabric, but that still meant that I would be starting over again, "Grab another piece of fabric and try again; I won't allow you to leave until you can perform a perfect chain stick across one length of fabric."
"But… I have my Dungeon dive in two hours?" Why… did that sound like a question?!
"Well then, I suppose that you should not mess up this time?"
I damn near speared my finger with the needle, but as infuriating as she was on the surface level, Trisha Gothold was a hell of a teacher and she knew how to get you motivated.
Now if only she would let me eat my breakfast…
I was forced to eat my breakfast on the run back to the smithing district, and if I'm being honest I was almost half an hour behind, but considering I had already told them just how much of a slave driver Trisha was I should be covered. If I was running late to an official function I would have been more than annoyed, but it was just myself, Blackie, Brownie, Naaza, and Liliruca heading into the Dungeon today… so hopefully, my betrothed wouldn't try to take it out of my ass.
The speed I was capable of moving at was truly mind-boggling. While I didn't run too fast, as the crowds entering and leaving the Tower of Babel were quite thick, I was able to maintain an Olympic-level sprinter's pace the five kilometers back to the Hephaestus smithing district; at that speed it was incredibly easy for me to avoid the people in the streets, and since most of the people out and about were also Adventurers at this time of the morning I didn't have to worry about startling anyone.
Even a Level 1 could see me coming with how slowly I was moving, but considering nothing was on fire I didn't feel the need to rush any more than I already was.
Judging by the sun's position in the sky it was just about ten in the morning when I made the turn onto Crossed Hammers avenue- the main thoroughfare that had the primary gate to the smithing district. The roads were wide enough for two large wagons to pass each other by, and there were numerous smaller, independent smithy shops that dotted both sides; the streets were clean, to a certain extent, but the constant smoke and smog that billowed from the hundreds of forge fires inevitably meant that unless you cleaned your business front daily there was always going to be some level of soot present.
The interesting thing about this whole district is that the Hephaestus familia didn't do business directly from the forges; it sort of reminded me of the bullshit with the car manufacturers from my previous life- just like you had to visit a car dealership to purchase a car instead of ordering it directly from the manufacturer you had to visit a licensed reseller for the vast majority of products our familia produced. Even weapons and armor were sold to the Guild or put up for sale in the familia's shops in the Tower of Babel; the only time direct business was conducted on premises was when an Adventurer was looking to commission a piece- then they could come up and get their weapon from the smith they hired. So, because of that, the majority of the traffic on Crossed Hammers avenue mainly came from merchant caravans that were looking to cut out the middle man and purchase supplies and building materials from my familia, but when they were inevitably turned away the independent smithies were right on our doorstep ready and willing to poach our business.
I thought that it was a bit silly to be giving away business, and when I voiced my thoughts to my Goddess she shook her head and laughed. Firstly, we didn't need every valis worth of business; just a handful of weapons commissions would see our familia funded for the whole year. Secondly, by working through resellers we were able to have our wares in multiple locations without our familia needing to build a location, staff it, and more importantly, pay taxes on it.
She explained to me that the Guild made their valis on taxing the monster cores and drops sold to them from Adventurers. Since most crafting familias rarely went into the Dungeon and made items that the Guild couldn't tax- because the drop items used were often sold directly to the crafting familias without the Guild getting a cut- there were rules put in place long ago that taxed crafting familias the more they tried to expand their familia's influence through direct storefronts. So by working with the small businesses and setting up an Affiliate program where they were able to purchase bulk goods at a discount my familia skirted around those additional taxes while still being able to sell more than enough goods.
It not only supported small businesses and gave them a nice cut of the profits, but it also considerably reduced the short-term risk that my familia incurred should there be large fluctuations within the markets; if there was a sudden glut of structural nails because housing developments had tapered off in the villages and towns surrounding Orario then all we had to do was cut off production until prices stabilized or demand rose. It sort of sucked that our affiliates would be stuck holding the back with tons of nails or other products taking up their valuable inventory space, but that was just business.
It was surprisingly forward thinking in a world where technology and other human developments had stagnated for the better part of 1,000 years.
I waved to a few people who recognized me as I slowed my run down to a brisk walk as I rounded the bend and caught sight of the front gate; standing out in front were my beautiful beloveds and they were all geared up and ready to go.
'Hurry up, waiting on you~.' I chuckled to myself as the age-old military song that was often sung, or yelled, at the last person to show up to any function.
Khemi and Sooka's ears perked up and flicked in my direction before their heads turned to follow, no doubt their sensitive hearing heard my soft laughter. Their golden eyes lit up happily and their black and brown tails started wagging behind them gently. Naaza and Liliruca followed suit, and while the Pallum girl had tried to give me a disapproving mug, the small tugging at the sides of her lips told me that she was just as happy to see me as everyone else was. My sleepy puppy looked like her usual sleepy puppy self, with her artfully drooped eyebrows and an equally lazy smile on her face.
"Sorry I'm late, girls, that slave-driver wouldn't let me leave until I'd made a correct stitching line that was up to her specifications," I waved with a grin as I crossed the distance and gave them each a hug.
"It is alright, dear," Sooka, my black-furred, black-haired werewolf betrothed smiled gently, "I've asked around the pack and one of them was able to confirm to me that your teacher is indeed a perfectionist."
"Mmhmm," Khemi nodded at her sister-wife-to-be's words, "Besides, we have not been waiting overly long. We're only going down to the 18th floor to hunt the Minotaurs today, so missing half an hour of the hunt will not hinder us."
"Excellent, excellent," I clapped my hands gently, "Before I go inside and get changed, is there anything anyone needs me to grab while I'm inside?"
They shook their heads and I gave them each a kiss on the cheek, waving to Daldi manning the security booth at the front gate; the olive-skinned human was one of the Level 2s that gained their Level 3 when he went down with us during that first fateful expedition.
As I headed back to my room I ruminated on my girls.
Today was a momentous occasion for the Khemi and Sooka; after two years of hard work they were both completely maxed out on their statuses. Thankfully I didn't have to work all that hard to convince the two werewolves to follow their seasoned betrothed's advice and hold off on attempting their Rank Ups. While the pair were more than happy to follow my lead after seeing my Status Update sheets, it aggravated their packmates within the Skadi familia that they decided to languish as Level 1s for two years when they could have attempted a "Leveling Trial" much sooner. The "Leveling Trials" were a list of monsters or feats that their familia had created over their century of history that aspiring Adventurers could face that would lead to almost a guaranteed Rank Up. While it was sort of common knowledge that certain monsters, when defeated, often were more than enough to garner a Rank Up, however, the techniques and particular hunting locations were familia secrets.
Even if my women believed in the promise of our marriage enough to leave their homes and follow me all the way out to Orario there was no way in hell that I'd ever be able to convince them to betray the Skadi familia's trust and tell me what they knew. Not that I would ever dream of asking them, but it was something that I had to be mindful of; I was similarly barred from revealing my own familia's secrets to them- Liliruca was a member of my familia, and those rules extended to her as well.
Once I got to my room I stripped out of my clothes, and pulled on a nice neutral brown colored bodysuit, then some non-reactive Skull Sheep wool stockings, and a pair of tan canvas tactical cargo pants. I stuffed my feet in my knee-high armored Minotaur leather boots, making sure to squirm my toes around and check the fit; I was still a growing boy thanks to the alterations to my falna by Hephaestus and Miach, so I needed to check my clothing and armor frequently to make sure that they didn't get too tight.
I pulled on a proto-type combat shirt over the body suit and tucked it into my pants before I secured it with a thin leather belt, and over the top of that was a very fine Damascus chainmail shirt that had long sleeves. The chainmail itself had been imbued with Kelpie Hair that I picked up on one of my many jaunts down to the 27th floor, and while it didn't add to the durability of the armor it did pick up the magical properties of the water horse- while wearing it the chainmail kept me cool, and it also made it easier to move while submerged in water; it wasn't a direct replacement to Undine cloth, but considering I had an Undine cloth scarf that I wore whenever I went down to the Water City just in case I ever got knocked into the water.
Over the top of my chainmail, I added on another combat shirt that was a half as thick as the first one, but this was mainly just for aesthetic purposes; the light brown contrasted nicely with the tan I was wearing, and even if the chainmail was beautifully done with Tsubaki-nee's help… naked chainmail was just not that nice to look at. Considering we were only going down to the 18th floor I opted to put on my Killer Ant Chitin imbued Orc hide cuirass; it was well used, with scars and pits running along its emerald green surface, but it structurally was just fine, especially for the monsters that we would be facing.
The last things to go on were my LBE web-gear with all of my potions and pouches and the harness that carried my bow, arrows, knives, my short Songwood staff, and my Damascus longsword Wayfinder; I retired Journeyman before it could accrue too much damage, and I made Wayfinder in the same style except with an extra inch in length because I was steadily ticking my way up in height. However, instead of using a Minotaur horn as I had previously, I decided to insert forge a pair of Deadly Mosquito proboscis and was testing to see how it fared; the dog-sized insects on the 25th through 27th floors had proboscis that was stronger than steel, and while it didn't strengthen the material as much as the Minotaur horn did, there was a significant improvement in the way the sword pierced my foes.
The main reason I started retiring my equipment before it could be destroyed was that soon enough I'd have a bunch of children of my own, and in case anything went pear-shaped I wanted to leave them all with tangible items that they could remember me by. I had a lot of good times with the old 22 Long-Rifle bolt action that my father left me before he died, and whenever I missed him I could pull the rifle out of the soft case underneath my bed and run my hands along the wood; the fact that he owned that weapon and used it to go out and have fun plinking cans and offing squirrels in the woods behind my house.
It gave me a connection, something real. Something that I could hold onto.
The fact that they could one day use it to keep themselves safe or earn some coin if things got tough for them made it all that much sweeter.
With my pre-Combat Checks and Inspections completed I grabbed my supporter pack and walked out the door, making sure to lock up my room. The steady thumps of wood gave way to the crunch of gravel as I left the dormitories and made my way down the streets of the district back towards the front gate. The gate came into sight and it was quite obvious that my werewolf gals were quite excited to head on down- this was their Rank Up day, and there was no doubt in my mind they would be able to accrue the needed High-Quality excelia needed to make that step.
All I needed was for Lilicura to take that step- she'd been spending more time learning the duties of blacksmithing and working on her magic versus working her body, and that had slowed her growth somewhat. She was in the 900's on all of her stats, but considering she had only learned how to read in the last year she'd been with the familia I wasn't down on her at all for not keeping up; the Pallum girl was still a child, and she was learning how to be a smith, learning magic, training herself with her weapons, and diving into the Dungeon all at the same time. I feel like her competitiveness was doing her a world of good here, and the fact that she had plenty of examples to see that anyone could accomplish what we were doing if they put their minds to it must have allayed her fears tremendously.
Speaking of Liliruca, I turned towards my halfling girlfriend and placed my hands on my hips, giving her a confident, blinding smile. "So, I heard that your Apprenticeship trial is coming up soon."
The Pallum girl's face scrunched up as we walked towards the Dungeon, "Yes it is, Bell-sama. I've been asking around, trying to figure out what exactly it is so that I can prepare for it but no one seems to be able to tell me anything. It's quite annoying!"
I reached up and patted her head with a gloved hand, "Don't worry, Lili, you'll be fine. You've spent two years preparing for this moment, and I have full confidence in your abilities."
"Well, I guess it's fine then," Liliruca grumbled halfheartedly.
"Besides, the nature of the test is secret, you know? It's a right of passage for all of our smiths!" I grinned broadly, "It's a momentous occasion, one that you'll remember for the rest of your life, so you'll have to forgive the others who don't want to spoil your very first solo task."
"Oh, I remember when Miach-sama had me make my first order of potions," Naaza intoned wistfully, "I was so confident that I could do it all by myself, and I ended up breaking all of the equipment and creating a high-strength acid by accident."
"It was quite embarrassing, but Miach-sama ended up being able to recreate my mistakes," The cheinthrope's droopy smile became something of a smirk as she continued, "We now have a high-strength acid that we sell to locksmiths who need something strong when they can't conventionally pick troublesome locks."
I raised an eyebrow and gave the sleepy puppy a look. Gloat more why don't you?
Her smirk didn't fade at all as we moved out of the sunlight and into the darker interior of the Tower of Babel.
Let's go get us a pair of Rank Ups!
The 18th floor hadn't changed one bit since I last had been through- a dark stone labyrinth that was chock full of Minotaurs; myself and Naaza had handled the small-fry from the 11th floor onward, if only to let the werewolf pair save their strength. Other than a few fights on the 17th floor to get Sooka and Khemi warmed up we did a majority of the fighting and collecting; my pack was already quite full of monster cores and drop items, and while Liliruca had her Artel Assist skill I was still by far the strongest and the fastest- best to burden me with the additional weight.
Though with how many monsters we were able to slaughter on our way down Liliruca's large supporter pack was already half full.
"Alright, you two, this is it," I turned my eye towards the pair and gave them appraising glances; they wore a similar armor to my own, and they wielded the standard weapons of the Skadi familia- a long spear, a short sword, and a pair of long-bladed knives. They would have had their bows and arrows with them, as they were more than skilled with them, but unfortunately, they were still a good ways off from purchasing a 30 million valis bow along with the 2000 valis Chantwood arrows needed to kill anything past the 25th floor, so they left them behind. They focused on upgrading their spear and swords first, and we were hoping to get a pair of Minotaur horns from this expedition.
If the Dungeon decided to be a dick, which it usually did, if this expedition bore no fruit then we would purchase a quartet of horns from the Guild and I would fashion for them a spear and a shortsword much like my own as their Level 2 gifts; I hadn't much experience with spears, so I would have to enlist the aid of my Tusbaki-nee- she was the one who made all of the Braver's spears, so I knew she was damn good.
"You know what you have to do, and the same rules apply that Tsubaki-sama applies to me will apply to you; I will stick to the edges of your fights and if I see you falter then I will step in. You get five mistakes- after that, I'll call it," I nodded my head, "However, since there are two of you the chances of your getting separated are fairly high, so in the event of separation I will follow one and Liliruca and Naaza will follow the other."
They both nodded wordlessly and I stepped forward and planted a firm kiss on their lips. "Hunt well, my loves, and may you emerge victorious."
I felt a little cheesy saying such a thing, but the werewolf tribes that they were from were all about saying embarrassing things while being completely and utterly serious about it. Their faces were firm but the way their tails swished to and fro let me know that my words had stoked their fires.
Without a word, the pair hugged each other and they both sprinted down the tunnel leaving myself, Naaza, and Liliruca to follow back at a distance.
It was odd seeing them not attacking the same target as they usually did during our previous dives together- unless they were a loner like Bete most werewolves tended to operate in the Dungeon as wolves did on the surface; they attacked as a group, surrounding, and attacking from multiple angles. While I'd long since outgrown Minotaurs as opponents, my wives- while having all 999's for their stats- were still Level 1; the bull monsters were Level 2 for a reason, and I'm not going to lie and say that watching them fight these beasts while just being barely up to par didn't give me heart palpitations.
I dropped my pack a few times to cull the herd of Minotaurs that roamed in, trying to interfere in the separate duels that Sooka and Khemi were running, but other than that I thankfully didn't have to intervene; their spears gave them more than enough reach to stay out of the range of the Minotaur's devastating fists, but when the monsters realized that they were just going to be bled to death by a thousand cuts they stopped holding back.
It was always crazy to see the sudden change in the Minotaur's behavior once they realized that their opponent wasn't something they could toy with and crush beneath their hooves; it was like a switch was flipped and they went from 60 to 100 in a single, incredibly violent instant. They stopped holding back their speed and strength, and blows that would have cracked ribs were now more than capable of pulping a Level 1's internal organs, and punches that could be handily dodged were now damn near impossible because even if they were horrifically telegraphed they shot out like a piston with crushing force.
Most Adventurers could survive the first stage, but they perished when the Minotaur's got serious; if they had a party backing them up they could possibly survive long enough to overcome the shock of seeing the monster let loose, but for the solo Adventurers foolish enough to wander down here without being a mid-tier Level 2 with solid equipment? Those guys and gals died the moment the kiddie gloves came off.
That was something that Khemi had experienced firsthand- she was forced to block a strike with her spear that shattered the haft into a hundred tiny pieces when she wasn't quick enough to even parry the strike. The War Shadow claw High Steel spearhead tumbled through the air before embedding itself in the wall, but despite being caught off guard by the sudden increase in ferocity the werewolf managed to make enough distance to draw her shortsword- one of my make- and she engaged close in, the weapon drawing angry lines that gushed putrid black ichor onto the stone floor beneath them.
I flicked my eyes over to Sooka and saw that she was having a little bit easier time with her Minotaur- she'd broken her spear as well, but it looked to be more on purpose because the spearhead was lodged firmly in the monster's kneecap; this cut the frightening mobility almost in half and allowed her to dance around the beast with her short sword stabbing and hacking.
I was a bit surprised to see that Khemi, despite having the demonstrably tougher Minotaur, was the first one to finish it off- her sword thrusting up into the monster's mouth and emerging through the top of its skull when it tried to gore her with its horns. Sooka followed her sister-wife shortly a few moments later, her weapon biting into the minotaur's neck, sending arterial spray all over the walls; the monster collapsed and tried to stem the bleeding, but with my girl being the hunter she was the werewolf was content to stay back just out of reach and wait the few dozen seconds for the Minotaur to bleed out.
When they both retrieved their Minotaur's monster cores I gave them both a big kiss and scratched behind their ears. Two solo kills of a Minotaur while being Level 1? That was a definite Level 2. "Excellent job, girls!"
The werewolves soaked up the attention with gusto, and I cast Magician's Wonder underneath me so that I could heal their bruises and reinforce their bodies with Total Body , "Now that your Rank Up requirements have been met, let's have a bit more fun with them, shall we? This should last for the next twenty-three minutes, so try and kill as many Minotaurs as you can before it runs out."
Between the thirty percent increase from the Magician's Wonder and the one hundred percent increase from the Mage developmental ability I could boost one person nearly three and a half letter grades, but when split between the pair they each gained 173 stat points to their Strength, Endurance, Dexterity, and Agility. It might not sound like a lot, but it is more than enough to tip the scales more in their favor- I estimated that the two of them could maybe kill ten more Minotaurs before their buffs ran out, and that was more because they were going to be using their shortswords instead of their spears.
My silent hunters touched the base of my ear with their noses and then they were off like a shot, the sound of battle picking up down the tunnel just a few seconds later; I rolled my eyes at their enthusiasm but hefted my pack and made sure it was secure before taking off after them- I had High Potions that could heal everything short of death and dismemberment as my spells were good but they weren't good.
Still didn't mean I would be so inattentive to let such wounds occur on my watch in the first place.
I took off down the tunnel with Naaza and Liliruca flanking me to the left and to the right.
Special thanks to Lmc9389, Artillery, AuraofCalm, Mioismoe, D. Wongsonegoro, Darkarma, Acrimonius, T. Balewood, Randall Randall, Dominyx Black, CyberCrisis, Blue, Russ Stilter, Legion_13, Mike Fatal_Bullet, P. Nguyen, J. Ricardo Passos, K. Weierbach, R. Alderman, A P, Arrorn, PbookR, and Mortaegus for being Patrons!
You guys rock!
So, this chapter was brought to you by 0-2 Corpse Drag run 737. 737 runs and still no PK. What the fuck is the drop rate for her? LOL
Regardless, this chapter ballooned way out of proportion for the parts you got to read- I didn't even get a chance to get into the Level 4 rank up, Bell's 13th birthday, his testing out and fooling around with Mystery. However, this felt like a pretty good stopping point 10k words in and acts as a nice transitional chapter- a sort of break from the grind and all of the action as we do some exploring, do some world building, and interact with the world around the MC.
So all of that will be done next chapter! I hope you all enjoyed!
Interlude - Prelude to Darkness
[Bell Winters]
You know what? I'd been living in Orario for four years now and not once had I ever set foot in the Hostess of Fertility. The dining facility at the Hephaestus smithing district had served decent enough food that I never really felt the need to go out and eat elsewhere- the portions were always large enough for a growing boy with a falna, and the choices of ingredients let me know that for a world that didn't have Nutritional Science they were doing a damn fine job. There was always plenty of meat, good sources of carbohydrates, and a decent variety in the different types of dishes so that I didn't get bored eating the same thing every day.
The one thing that the dining facility didn't have was booze, and that was because Hephaestus didn't want to chance any of her children smithing while drunk. Apparently, that had led to either hilarious weapons or 3rd-degree burns, and sometimes even both.
There was no end to Vornir's grumbles whenever he'd been prompted to remember that little tidbit; he'd been in the familia when there was as much ale as you could drink (and pay for).
Something about 'drunk smithing being a man's romance'.
Regardless, the main reason I'd avoided the Hostess was that I didn't want to get myself on Freya's radar before I had the strength and capabilities to handle that particular bundle of sexy and crazy.
However, it appeared that since it was my 13th birthday- something I'd completely forgotten about- my desires for a small, quiet meal with my betrothed and closest friends were overruled by my Goddess. She didn't state it out loud, but I could tell that she was looking for a reason to get everyone together and have a celebration that included the whole familia; the schism I'd inadvertently created had been growing wider and wider with each successful mini-Expedition between the Hephaestus and Miach familias, and she wanted to bring everyone back together through the time-honored tradition of booze and food.
Granted I felt like forcing those that disliked me ('hate' is a strong word) to attend a birthday party in my honor, it wasn't like there hadn't been a precedence for it in the past- to my knowledge almost everyone that achieved Level 3 in the familia had their birthday celebrated at least once on the familia's dime. It just so happened that my time was now.
"Happy birthday to you~!"
"Happshy birshday toooo yyyyoooouuuu~!"
"Happshy birfday dear-"
"Winters-kun!"
"Schmifhing Princceeeee~!"
"Lllittlleee bbasssttaarddd~!"
"""""Happy birthday too you~!""""
The Hostess of Fertility exploded into shouts, cheers, and jeers alike as tankards were raised high into the air and subsequently downed with gusto.
A blush crept up my cheeks at being the center of attention within the Hostess, and it reminded me why I wasn't a huge fan of large social gatherings like this; I wasn't a loner, but there was only so much I could take before feeling a little out of sorts.
Almost half of the familia was here, though the majority of them were Level 1s and Level 2s who were looking to have a great meal and all they could drink on the familia's dime. The Hostess was a large place, but it wasn't like there was room for everyone here, and we certainly couldn't rent out the whole establishment no matter how much Mia Grand liked Hephaestus; those who had families of their own begged off and I can say I didn't blame them- nobody likes "mandatory fun" type functions.
Big Army had them, and just like Big Army so too did the Ranger Battalions- if I had to choose between getting gussied up in my Dress Blues and drinking at a stuffy unit function or wearing more comfortable clothes and dancing at a club packed to the brim with other party-goers then damnit there wasn't really a choice! If you happened to act a fool while intoxicated in the club the worst that would happen is your buddies rib you for the rest of time, but if you happened to make a fool of yourself in front of the Colonel or Command Sergeant Major then woe be unto you because your ass was grass.
If you're having a party then the main objective is to relax and destress away from the worries of work, and you can't really cut loose and have fun when your direct superiors are right in front of you watching your every move.
Now, let's be real and say that Lady Hephaestus is a laid back and relaxed Goddess, and she understands as much as any Divine can that mortals can sometimes act out and cause a bit of a ruckus when they're intoxicated. She isn't the type to hold it against you unless what you did was particularly egregious, and at that point you had a lot more to be worried about.
Now, seeing that I was only 13 and not really eligible to drink I didn't have to worry about that particular pitfall of this social function, but instead, I had to deal with the well wishes of my coworkers. Some of which were rather embarrassing.
My Goddess, who sat directly across from me at the main table in the restaurant, had a delightful smile on her face the entire time; her eye crinkled in amusement as members of the familia who had imbibed one too many drinks stumbled over to my chair to say a few words.
"Ah, ah, thought you were an annoying little shite, I did. Always ask'n people questions when they're busy wit' their o-own work. Though you done proved me wrong, boy! Growing up to be a fine young man and an even finer smith!"
The fact that they mussed up my hair with their alcohol-stained fingers made it worse, but I bore their kind and backhanded compliments with dignity and grace. My smile was tight, my eyes were even tighter, but I still managed to not clobber anyone in the face as the night wore on.
My betrothed and their mothers were a large part of that- Khemi and Sooka sat on my left and right while Naaza and Liliruca sat next to them; Naaza's mother, Mila Erisuis, along with her sister-wife Mushi, sat next to Naaza with Miach seated next to them. I didn't know they had been invited, but having someone else in this place who was calm and collected took the edge off- bless you, Miach-sama, you truly are too good for this world!
The gifts were quite nice, however; I'd forgotten what it was like to get gifts from people were actually from the heart instead of something purchased from a Big Box store and or re-gifted from Christmas the year before.
Khemi and Sooka pooled their valis together to purchase for me a finely made gold chain that held a number of gold rings that would hold small gold medallions in shapes that signified my current betrothed. The chain was fashioned in such a way so that if I attracted more wives into the pack I could add more rings accordingly.
"So no matter where you might be, you will always have something to remember us by, dear."
Ah, my dear Blackie, you truly are a wonder.
Naaza and Liliruca had worked together with Tsubaki to fashion some jigs that would end up becoming incredibly important for my armor forging later on. While I'd lived life in a world where a blacksmith could simply purchase a tool or jig off of Amazon and have it delivered to his door, here the blacksmith more often than not needed to fashion his own tools and jigs to do difficult jobs more quickly. In particular, they created a jig that would help me make bodkin-tipped arrowheads perfectly every time, a fullering jig that would help me quickly pound my longsword and shortsword's fuller evenly and precisely without fail, and a what appeared to be a jig that would help me correctly pound out the curvature of armor more efficiently.
The gifts were great, and I made sure to let them know how much I appreciated their love and hard work.
My Goddess offered me a small favor as my gift, and I immediately burned it asking her to look for Hermes and to ask his Child, Asfi Al Andromeda to tutor me for a little while with the Mystery Developmental Ability. I would even pay her a good sum of money for her tutelage.
However, a gift that I did not expect came from Vornir- the man offering me anything I'd like.
Of course, I asked him to go on some deeper dives with me to gather materials and to help me forge my first set of armor for Aiz Wallenstein; I'd want to do the vast majority of the work myself, but if I was going to fuck something up I'd naturally want him to step in to prevent me from ruining a whole bunch of hard work.
Eventually, the party began to die down, and people slowly trickled out of the Hostess and out onto the streets. I bid my Goddess and those that were remaining behind to drink some more a good night and I gave Naaza, her mother, and her mother's sister-wife a big hug before watching them leave towards their home on the opposite side of the city. Khemi and Sooka both gave me a pair of enthusiastic closed-mouth kisses before they walked towards their familia home down the main road- the two werewolves walking with a pleased sway in their step.
With everyone else left it was just myself and Liliruca standing out in front of the Hostess of Fertility, and I couldn't help the warmth rising to my cheeks as a few of the people passing by gave me some amused smiles; I'd never been one for PDA, but the werewolves didn't seem to care one whit about that.
I shook my head and offered the crook of my arm to Liliruca, "Well, shall we head home for the evening, Liliruca?"
Her face was a touch hot as well, but her embarrassment slowly bled way to some sort of quasi-vindictive delight as she looped her arm around my own and intertwined our fingers together. "Yes, I think I'd like that. I rarely ever have you all to myself, Bell-sama."
My eyes crinkled and I squeezed her hand firmly as we started off.
Though, we'd only gotten a few paces before the scraping of wood on stone caught my attention and I looked back behind me to see a large, mountain of a man wearing plain worker's clothing and a drab, unremarkable cloak; a light brown turban had been wrapped around his head and covered the left side of his face. The only thing that caught my attention besides the small amount of brown facial hair on his chin were the deep scars that were visible crossing over his sole visible eye.
"You're the Birthday Boy, right?" His deep, baritone voice rattled my bones; if he didn't appear to be genuinely jovial I would have been very on guard. Still didn't stop my instincts from screaming at me that this was a dangerous individual.
Rather than coming off nervous or rude, I gave him a firm, polite nod, "Yes sir, I am. Just turned 13 years old today."
A small, wry smile appeared on his lips as he brought the wooden mug of ale up to his chin. "13 and already a married man? I knew those tribal girls moved quickly, but to think that they'd have already staked a claim on you this early."
Rather than respond I just arched an eyebrow.
"Well, then, happy birthday, Bell Cranel," A snort escaped his lips and he saluted me with his mug, "Here's to hoping that you see many, many more."
I felt my spine stiffen up momentarily, but I forced myself to relax; it wasn't as if I wasn't already a household name in the city of Orario- the people put me on the same level as Aiz Wallenstein, the Smith Prince to the Sword Princess, so someone knowing my name was just something I had to deal with when I was out and about.
"Thank you for your kind well-wishes, Stranger," I wetted my lips as I shifted my stance minutely. Something niggled at the back of my mind the longer I looked at the man, and the more I looked over his features the more I felt something bubble up from the surface of my memories. The man looked familiar, like someone I'd seen before in passing, "Tell me, have we met before?"
He slugged the tankard back and drained it dry within a few moments, and when the mug came down he wiped at the remnants that had seeped past his lips with the back of his worn shirt sleeve. The stranger shook his head, "No, this is the first time we've ever met, Birthday Boy."
The man sat the empty tankard down on the table before pulling up his hood and striding away, a lazy hand thrown up over his shoulder as he walked, "Have a good evening, boy. Oh, almost forgot."
As he spoke I saw Syr step out of the Hostess' doorway with a big, puffy pout on her face, and before she could even speak the man reached into his pocket and pulled out a gold coin and flicked it at her with his thumb- the 100,000 valis coin arcing perfectly through the air to land in her outstretched hand. "Keep the change, girlie. Buy yourself something nice."
With that, he took a left turn into an alleyway and disappeared out of sight.
I was torn away from the side street the man walked down when Syr let out an explosive sigh, "Oh, thank goodness he paid! I thought we were going to have another dine and dasher- Mama Mia would have had my hide for sure!"
A small chuckle issued from my throat and I turned my eyes to regard the silver-haired waitress-cum-Goddess-in-Disguise. Let it never be said that if I didn't have foreknowledge of who Syr actually was I would have never guessed that she was Freya- Divines had a feel about them, one that you could never misconstrue, and the fact that Freya had managed to somehow find a way to bypass that and then proceed to flawlessly craft a persona that could hide in a tavern and inn was nothing short of astounding.
The number of Gods or Goddesses who would have stooped to bussing tables, handing out food and drink, and lowering themselves to serve mortals instead of being served are far and few in between. I know that she didn't do this for any other reason than because it was entertaining for her, but I'll be damned if she didn't stay in character 100%.
"Well, if the man had tried to leave without paying then I would have chased him down and brought him back for Mia Grand-sama's judgment," That was the truth- though with the vibes I was getting from that guy I don't know whether I could have backed up my words. Though if it had been the case I wasn't the type of person to just stand by when an obvious crime was being committed in front of me.
Silvery-blue eyes regarded me cooly; her mouth was smiling but her eyes were not. If anything the best I could tell was that she was looking at me… very carefully disguised… disdain? Or was it indifference?
The look passed in what seemed like a split second before she was all genuine smiles again, the waitress holding fist that contained the gold coin up to her heart, "Well I'm certainly glad to see that there are still fine people in this world who would do the right thing!"
The woman let out a soft sigh and then gave Liliruca and me a curtsey before she trotted off back inside the Hostess of Fertility.
I felt Liliruca's grip on my forearm tighten up as the Pallum girl began to drag me down the street. "No! Bell-sama! No more! You have enough!"
Her outburst wiped away some of the anxiety that I'd been feeling all night, and I couldn't help but laugh as I scooped Liliruca up into a Princess Carry and carried her all the way home. "I have no idea what you're talking about, my dear Lili. They come to me, not the other way around."
"That's what I'm afraid of, you're too nice, Bell-sama. Sometimes you need to tell those thieving cats to take a hike," She fussed about in my arms for a few moments, the embarrassment of being carried in such a fashion warring with her delight at actually being carried in such a fashion.
She eventually settled down after seeing that there were very few people around who could even see us on the streets at this time of night, so after a minute of walking she wrapped her arms around my neck and buried her face in my collarbone with a smile on her face.
When we got back to the compound Liliruca and I both split off to take baths in the separate bathrooms before she came over to my dorm room and clambered into bed with me. She was only wearing a t-shirt and panties but I didn't really care at this point, all I wanted to do was sleep because I had a very full day ahead of me.
When I woke up that morning I'd found that my briefs were all wet and sticky and there was a rather noticeable tent in the front of my underwear.
I was wide-eyed as I carefully slipped out of bed, making sure not to disturb Liliruca, and I walked over to the light that was just beginning to peek in through the blinds. I untied the waistband of my underwear and pulled it down, and I had never been more delighted to see an erection in my entire life.
It was… a little on the small side.
Though, I'm only 13.
I will get bigger.
Think positive thoughts.
Special thanks to Lmc9389, Artillery, AuraofCalm, Mioismoe, D. Wongsonegoro, Darkarma, Acrimonius, T. Balewood, Randall Randall, Dominyx Black, CyberCrisis, Blue, Russ Stilter, Legion_13, Mike Fatal_Bullet, P. Nguyen, J. Ricardo Passos, K. Weierbach, R. Alderman, A P, Arrorn, PbookR, Mortaegus, Nevets309, and Jake95044 for being Patrons!
You guys rock!
A/N: Just a short little thing I whipped up. This was going to be the start of the next chapter, but instead I decided to break it off as it didn't fit with the rest of what I was going to be writing - grinding, training, forging, and more grinding.
Chapter 8 - Preparation Part I
"So, are you certain that's all you want?" The God's eyes crinkled as lips were tugged to the sides in a rather pleased smile.
Spoiler: Hermes [img: https/external-content./iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fs-media-cache-ak0.%2F736x%2Fdb%2F35%2F6c%2Fdb356c4c5a83a6ca89ef60d44f162e3b.jpg =1 =1]
Considering said smile was on the face of Hermes I automatically hated it- the God was, in my opinion, one of the Divines who came down to Gekai primarily for entertainment. He was someone that played all sides of the field, though he had a more "Light Side" bent to him if what I remember seeing of him during the series. However, he wasn't for the "good guys" simply because it was the right thing to do, he was for the "good guys" simply because that was what made the most exciting tale.
He was the type of person that would withhold important, pertinent, crucial information solely because he wanted to see just how Bell Cranel would react when he was faced with the truth of whatever shitty situation the white-haired rabbit found himself in.
Something along the lines of 'Ah, I wonder how you'll react when this gets revealed, Bell Cranel-kun. Huu, huu, huu, huu.'
Disgusting, really.
However, because of his shifty nature and willingness to play ball no matter what field it was on it meant that pretty much all sides used him to gather information on their foes; whenever he worked with the "bad guys" he would always find a way to drop a hint somewhere in the right ear to make sure that their nefarious plans couldn't come to fruition, and in such a fashion that it would never get linked back to him. It was rather brilliant, how he worked, and while I'm thankful that a double-agent like him exists to feed me information for the right price it meant that you had to deal with him, and boy oh boy was he frustrating.
He reminded me of a Lisa Wilborne except he was more competent thanks to his countless years of experience being a professional gossip monger.
I arched an eyebrow, "I do believe that is what I said, yes. I want your Child, Asfi Al Andromeda, to tutor me in how to efficiently utilize my Mystery Developmental Ability so that once I decide to Rank Up I can hit the ground running, so to speak."
The four of us- Hephaestus, myself, Hermes, and Andromeda- all sat in my Goddess' office; it was after work hours, and the God of Travel had been quite adamant about that because he was currently on the Guild's shitlist for having 'forgotten' to pay their taxes this year.
Again.
So they were forced to sneak into the city.
How my Goddess had managed to even find the far-traveling God eluded me, but she had been pretty smug in the fact that she'd managed to track him down within a single week of my request to her. In fact, she looked like she was about ready to burst with all of the smug that she was barely keeping contained within; I should have
never
bet against her.
I don't know what sort of favor she'll extort from me in the future, but whatever it is it can't be good.
My Goddess' lone eye crinkled in delight and I felt ice form within the pit of my belly. Unnerved by my Divine's happy disposition I turned my focus back to the twenty-one-year-old Asfi Al Andromeda; she was pretending to be the cool, calm, collected beauty that I had been familiar with from the show, but she was far away from being what she tried to portray herself to be.
"Hmmmm…" The God leaned back and threw his leg over the armchair, the man slouching in the seat so that he could pull his stupid cowboy hat down to hide his eyes, "You're asking a lot, Cranel-kun-"
I could see his left eye barely hidden by the back of his glove- the Divine tried to get a rise out of me by using Cranel's name. Why? I couldn't tell you.
"-those sorts of things are often kept quite secret, you know? Would you hand out the secrets of your smithing techniques?" His drawl was overdone, "Besides, my sweet little Asfi-chan didn't have anyone to teach her about the Mystery Developmental Ability, and now here she is- all grown up and considered one of the best users in all of Orario!"
Asfi twitched at his compliments, her cheeks going ruddy. "Hermes-sama…"
Spoiler: Asfi Al Andromeda
[img: https/external-content./iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fvignette.wikia.%2Fdungeon-ni-deai-o-motomeru%2Fimages%2F9%2F94%2FAsfi_Al_Andromeda_Anime_6.png%2Frevision%2Flatest%2Fscale-to-width-down%2F640%3Fcb%3D20150810203324 =1 =1]
Her voice was full of warning, and the God chuckled nervously in a playful fashion as he straightened himself up and warned her off with his hands held up in surrender.
"I understand that, however, I do believe that my Goddess called this in as a favor, one of the many that you owe her," I had expected this, and I reached down to my side where a manila envelope was carefully placed and I pulled it out before bending the thin metal tabs that kept it sealed.
Hermes' smile faltered just a touch as his eyes tightened minutely- the scary part about him was that I couldn't tell if he showed me that on purpose or not. The man way truly a terrifying actor.
"However, I understand that the world isn't run solely on favors, and sometimes times get hard and you get down on your luck," The pages came out and what was revealed to all in attendance was the Official Publicly available paperwork from the Adventurer's Guild of Orario. That caused the God's eyebrow to rise and his posture shifted to one that was more attentive.
Good.
"Let it never be said that I am not a reasonable person, and I'm not so crass as to demand that you give me this training solely to repay a debt," I flipped through the pages until I found what I was looking for and I rand my finger along the words in a small touch of showmanship that I knew deep down the God would appreciate, "It says here that you owe the Guild 13.537 Million valis in back-taxes for this year, and 11.245 Million valis in the previous year's taxes as well. All told you owe the Guild 24.782 Million valis, and because you owe said taxes your familia is currently barred from entering the Dungeon and exchanging monster cores and drop items."
I could see his lip twitch as he regarded me cooly, but it was more that he was fighting a smile than anything else. Likely he knew exactly where I was going with this.
I steepled my fingers in front of my chest while my elbows rested on the armrests of the leather, high-backed chair that all but swallowed my small teenage form. "So, here is what I propose."
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Asfi tensing up, no doubt she thought that I would probably try to blackmail them into teaching me. Not that it would do any good as nothing the Guild could do to them would stick- the Hermes familia has allies all over Orario, including in the Adventurer's Guild; the organization's complaints were more a formality because Hermes often worked directly at Ouranos' request. Hermes would go delinquent for a few years and then magically he would show back up with enough money to pay his dues and his restrictions would be lifted… and then he would go delinquent again years later.
I was convinced that it was part of his cover- he played the fool, someone that was always dealt a string of bad luck, and that made people relax around him- his foes believing that he was incompetent. They believed that his foolishness and weakness gave them power over him, that it would allow them to bully him into doing what they wished, and he would use that to royally fuck them over later. We saw that in the Haruhime debacle where Hermes himself was tasked by Ishtar to find and deliver to her a killing stone- which she paid him handsomely for- and he then dropped the right words into the ears of the right little hero and the Goddess of Love had her whole plans come tumbling down around her.
"I will give you the valis needed to cover the Guild taxes, plus ten percent extra- you and I both know that there just might be some little extra fees here and there that they might tack on just because you inconvenienced them. In addition to that," I stopped my words as I leaned back in my chair and did my best 'little boy trying to be serious' impression, "I will pay Asfi Al Andromeda-san 500,000 valis per day, and I will cover her expenses while we are in the Dungeon."
I saw the young woman's jar drop slightly, which completely gave the game away on their end- both parties negotiating needed to put up a united front. Asfi-chan would need a few more years before she could play the game marginally as well as Hermes. Or, on the flip-side of that her inexperience at negotiating was something that he accounted for and decided that bringing her in on this was more beneficial than it was harmful.
Ugh, shit, I hated stuff like this- I was a Ranger, let me kill bodies and break some shit!
"That's mighty generous of you, Cranel-kun," The God drawled and he straightened up in his chair completely as Asfi coughed into her fist to center herself. He rubbed his chin, "I do have a pair of younger members who need some training, and being able to go into the Dungeon again would certainly help get them stronger whenever we eventually leave for the outside world again."
His eyes slid over to his young familia Captain, "What do you think, Asfi-chan? Sound like a good deal?"
Asfi, to my knowledge, was a fresh Level 3 at this point in the series, and it would take her many, many years to make it to Level 4 by the time canon kicked off, and even then she was one of those "I'll Rank Up as soon as I'm able" types; this hamstrung her growth and because of her personal weakness it ended up getting many members of her familia killed on the 25th floor against Evilus. She was a crafter first and an Adventurer second, which led to her overly relying on her created items when more durable weapons, better strength, and skill would have served her better.
They were also quite poor seeing as they were only in Orario a quarter of the year if the reports were to be believed, so that meant that their members had to learn how to fight without equipment; fuck, one of their guys fought in the Dungeon by throwing stones from the Dungeon floor for God's sake!
Ill-equipped and ill-prepared, which made me incredibly angry because if I remembered correctly at the start of canon Asfi had a personal net worth of over 40 Million valis, and yet she allowed her familia members to languish with bottom-of-the-barrel weapons and armor.
Still, it was obvious that she didn't have that much money now because she wouldn't have batted an eye at the possibility of earning half a million valis a day. Instead, she looked quite dazed at the prospect.
"That… seems very generous," The woman swallowed as she adjusted her glasses, "I would be… amenable to such an arrangement."
"Then it's settled then!" I gently clapped my hands with a small smile on my face, and I felt no small bit of satisfaction as Hermes sighed audibly and rubbed at his temples with his hands.
Despite her cool, intelligent look the woman did not have a grasp of the Art of the Deal; when negotiating it is always pertinent to dig your heels in and fight for every scrap, and then you'd ease off after having gotten some more concessions. I was the weaker party in this transaction, and while Hermes knew it Asfi didn't.
The joke was her though because I had been willing to go as high as 2.5 Million valis per day to secure her teachings, if only because I knew just how much faster-learning things was when you had someone who'd gone through the pitfalls firsthand.
After all, it took me nine months to learn the healing spell Soothing Touch, and yet when I tutored Liliruca it took her just shy of four months.
"Excellent," I nodded to myself, as I reached down to my other side and pulled out another manila envelope and pulled out the paperwork, "I thought that we might be able to come to a mutually beneficial arrangement, so I took the liberty of drawing up this contract here. It protects us both, you see."
I slid the paperwork over to Hermes as I fixed Andromeda with a jovial look, "Now, since I'm paying top valis for an education I will be expecting a top valis education. Take this week to organize your thoughts and put together a lesson plan, on paper, as well as a timeline for how long you think that teaching me will take. Do be sure to draw up a list of materials you will need- parchment, blank books, quills, inkwells, travel cases for said sundries, and things like drop items to create practice materials, etc, etc."
The girl blinked as I vomited the information at her, and she nodded numbly as I slipped out of my chair and pushed it away from the table. I walked around the table and firmly shook her hand, "A pleasure doing business with you, Asfi Al Andromeda. Do be sure to have that done within the week, as Vornir-sama and I will be going down into the Dungeon for an extended dive, and you will be coming with us."
I released her hand as I gave my thoroughly amused Goddess a side-armed hug and gave Hermes a shallow bow. I continued speaking as I strode towards the door. "We'll be using the Under Resort as a base camp, so feel free to pack a little bit heavier than usual as we already have a storage unit rented in Rivira. No need to worry about food or water, I'll be taking care of all of that, as I did say I would be handling your expenses."
Once at the door I grabbed the door handle and paused, "Now, I have a
lot
of swords I need to make before I skip town, so to speak, is there anything else that anyone has questions about? Kami-sama?"
Hephaestus was fighting her grin as she shook her head, "No, I do believe that I can answer any questions they might have, so go on and get to work, Bell-kun."
I grinned and bowed at the waist, "Once again, a pleasure, Hermes-sama, Andromeda… sensei. I will see you at the front gates in a week! Until we meet again."
As I closed the door I was just able to catch Hermes letting out a soft chuckle, "Wow, what a frightening Child you have there, Hephaestus-chan."
Asfi's hazy murmur was harder to catch.
"Did I just get swindled by a child?"
"I know, isn't my Child the greatest?" Ah, Kami-sama. Please, that's too embarrassing.
Spoiler: Hephaestus [img: https/external-content./iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fvignette1.wikia.%2Fdungeon-ni-deai-o-motomeru%2Fimages%2F2%2F29%2FDanMachi_Volume_8_255.jpg%2Frevision%2Flatest%3Fcb%3D20150714003107 =1 =1]
[Three weeks later.]
[Bell Winters]
It had been two weeks since myself, Asfi, and Vornir departed from Orario with three wagons and three horses.
The wagons served a very important purpose- they would not only carry our loot of monster cores and drop items back to the surface, but they also contained plenty of refined materials that I would need to being my armor-smithing training under Vornir; I'd already done two of the quarterly seminars under my Goddess' watchful eye, and some of the other members of the familia had given me some tips and tricks here and there… and while I was confident that I could make armor that any Level 1 would trust their life to in the Upper Floors of the Dungeon I wasn't satisfied with just 'good enough'.
Especially not when I would be making armor for the Sword Princess.
The third wagon contained the smithing tools that I would use in the Under Resort's forges. It was part of the deal we had worked out with them- to gain access to the forges that they already had set up Vornir and I would fix weapons and armor for the medium-sized village's inhabitants at a discounted rate. Not that the blacksmiths already down there weren't good- there were five of them there, two Level 3s and three Level 2s who were all competent at their jobs- the issue was that being in the Dungeon 24/7 meant that their weapons and equipment saw more use, and that led to a lot of wear and tear that the five men couldn't keep up with.
The Under Resort was home to over five hundred Adventurers, and with 100 Adventures breaking shit to every 1 blacksmith who could fix said broken shit they were in a constant state of backlog.
It worked out in our favor though because it once again garnered good-will between Rivira and the Hephaestus familia- something that we were sharing with the Miach familia as they sold potions at discounted rates whenever we came down for our joint Expeditions- and that also meant that we didn't have to pay the exorbitant rent rates for a room at the shitty hotel. It also meant that no one would be stupid enough to fuck with our shit while we were away.
Bors, the one-eyed Level 3 nominally in charge of the Under Resort, had even promised to have a pair of his most trusted boys watch over our wagons while we were down in the lower floors.
Ah, the wonderful things that splendid cooperation could bring- why swing around a big sword when you could have them eating out of the palm of your hand and thank you for it?
Yeah, that was a much better way to go about it.
Besides, since we were going to go down to the 29th through 36th Floors, colloquially known as the Killing Fields , it meant that we had an excellent chance to do some business with Bors, and by extension Rivira.
"25 percent, huh?" Bors rubbed at his jaw as he leaned back in his stump-turned lounge chair in front of the firepit behind the village of Rivira's lone "inn"; though to call it such would be rather generous. It was a hovel with dirt walls, no windows, a "room" that was large enough to fit a bed and a travel trunk to store your gear, and that was about it. Hell, it didn't even have doors!
Yes, you heard me right, it didn't have doors! It just had a curtain that looked like something even the poorest scrounger in Daedalus would toss away with a scoff.
The fact that this "inn" only had five rooms made the comparison even worse.
"That's coming in pretty low, kid," The one-eyed man looked at me with suspicion, "The Hephaestus and Miach familias have really been doing us a solid- coming through and fixing our weapons and getting us potions on the cheap, but we still paid a fair price for it."
Fair price my ass! We were practically giving our potions and services away! At least be honest about that, you scheming prick!
I sighed and shook my head, "Listen, Bors, we're not doing this out of some sense of altruism, we're making this offer because it makes financial sense."
My thumb and forefinger came together in the universal sign for 'scratch', 'gelt', 'okane', and in case you missed what I was getting at…
'money'
. "We're going to be farming the 29th through 36th floors for monsters, and while we're braving the Bloodsaurus packs and the like we're also going to be collecting the Dungeon Fruit that grows there."
I gave him a small, wry grin. "Now, we both know that Dungeon Fruit can sell for as high as 30,000 valis and as low as 10,000 valis. It's a delicious little fruit that is a novelty for those Adventurers who want to know what success in the Dungeon tastes like, as well as those Divines who want to eat what everyone else is eating; the rich Gods and Goddesses often compete to see who can have the widest variety of Dungeon Fruits at their little soiree. They pay top valis for these little fruits."
The man grunted as the fire between us crackled and popped, flares of fire shooting up into the evening air. "I get that, kid, but what I don't get is the rate. You're the one collecting it, and you're only asking for a 25% cut when you're the one who arguably did the most work."
A chuckle escaped my lips and I shook my head, "Let's cut the shit, Bors. You guys pinch every valis down here and upcharge the fuck out of every new Adventurer who doesn't know how Rivira functions. However, I get that- you have to do things like that to survive; other than the Dungeon Fruit you need to have food shipped down here on a weekly basis to keep this Outpost for Mortal Kind up and running. So, because of that, even if you weren't going to be malicious or stupid enough to put our current relationship in jeopardy, you or someone else is going to try and skim something off the top. Then someone else is going to take their cut. Then someone else. Then at the end of the day by the time the product is delivered and the coin makes it back to my familia's hands the initial 50% cut I was promised would end up being far less."
"So, to keep someone from making me very unhappy, I'm coming in low from the get-go so that the majority of the proceeds can end up in Rivira's coffers. You can use that money to purchase new weapons," I leaned forward with a small smile on my face, "I happen to know that a glut of Warshadow High Steel and Damascus Minotaur Horn long swords will be hitting the market really soon, all of that at a good price even. You're going to want those weapons because the regular High Steel weapons you got break too often."
I reached into my sleeve and pulled out a rolled sheet of parchment that had a white and grey ribbon tied to it with a silver wax seal that contained my Adamantium stamp's imprint, "I just might even be able to reserve for your buyers a not inconsiderable amount of those weapons before they even hit the Guild's shelves."
Bors paused and then he began chuckling, which turned into full-blown laughter that caught Asfi off guard- the woman startling at the man's sheer volume. "You sure you weren't born in Rivira, kid? Because that is quite the scheme you've got running."
The one-eyed man leaned back and rubbed his nose while his gaze wandered up to the large crystal that emitted a soft blue light for the Under Resort's night cycle. "Even if we somehow stiffed you on the valis you'd still be getting your money back from us, man, what a scheme."
He shook his head, "Though it would still be in our favor, you have to know that, right?"
I shrugged my shoulders, "Of course, I know that, but I will say that Rivira provides a very important service to the wider Adventuring community by merely existing. I don't think I need to list everything off, but if you all went down because you didn't have the weapons and the potions needed to fight then everyone on the surface will be much worse off. I think it's high time that people up top stop sneering down at you and give you some modicum of respect and support, and I would like for it to be the Hephaestus and Miach familia's that give you all the support you're needing."
"In exchange for preferential treatment and prices, of course. If we need to offload some materials or monster cores that we can't carry, or if we need emergency repairs or potions then I do hope that we can at least expect something close to market rate… maybe 200% mark-up at the max?" I raised my hand and tapped the side of my nose, "That and if, for example, we get forced away from our wagons by a Monster Party, you'd be able to put together a good, solid team to help us retrieve them at a reasonable rate?"
The man winced and rubbed at his ribs as if I'd physically struck him.
Considering Rivira charged anywhere from 500% to 1,000% the prices on the surface giving such a 'discount' would be a huge hit if the Hephaestus and Miach familias decided to utilize their services too often.
Bors let out a sigh as he looked towards the shadows where one of his Lieutenants sat underneath a tree; I could see him from where I was seated but the signal must have been on of assent because the Leader of Rivira scrubbed at his head and nodded. "You drive a hard bargain, kid, but these people put their faith in me to keep them alive, and I know a good deal when I see one. You've got your terms."
"Excellent, a pleasure doing business with you, Bors-san," I smiled genuinely, glad that they would accept my offered help while veiling under the guise of a business transaction; the men down here were as proud as they were hard, and charity wasn't something they took kindly to. I tossed him the scroll and stood up to head back to my room.
Vornir formed up beside me, acting as if he were some sort of subordinate.
The bastard looked like he was just barely holding in what would be boisterous laughter.
So, every day we went out to the Killing Fields , a place that I had come to call the "Lost World" because pretty much every monster here was based on some sort of dinosaur- the Bloodsaurus was more the rule rather than an anomaly.
The 28th Floor was a safe area just as the 18th Floor was, but it wasn't nearly as nice of a place; there were a few streams with some trees that provided shade, and they were much needed because the "sun" blazed overhead and there was hardly a breeze to provide relief. Granted, it wasn't as debilitating to me or Vornir as it was to Asfi, as we were used to working with the heat of the forges and our Endurance stats were much higher than hers, but still, it sucked when compared to the temperate Under Resort. We really only stayed there long enough to cover the Dungeon Fruits, cores, and drop items we harvested and then moved back down to the soothing mists of the Water City post haste.
The Killing Fields were quite unique in that they were what was considered the first true taste of what the Lower Floors would be like for the uninitiated. The Upper Floors introduced Adventurers to the monsters while the Middle Floors introduced them to the concept of quantity. The Lower Floors starting with the Water City allowed the Adventurers to get used to the concept of "Quality" as the sheer lethality that the Dungeon could unleash; the Large Tree Labyrinth was deadly, true, with its hidden ambush monsters and poisons, but it was the Water City that showed the complacent just how bad it could be with monsters that could easily kill a Level 3 and force even seasoned Level 4s to flee rather than die.
The 29th through 36th Floors though? Those introduced "Quantity" and "Quality" at the same time. Once you got past the 30th floor the rocky outcroppings and sparse trees gave way to rolling hills and wide open prairies that only had small copses of trees that were close to streams, and the sheer numbers of Level 3 and 4 killing monsters that the Dungeon could bring to bear here made every engagement a Monster Party; you had to be quick and efficient with killing everything because with the wide open floors the monsters could see you fighting and they would rush to join the battle.
If you didn't clear them out quickly enough then you wouldn't have time to rest up between groups, and that would lead to your demise.
Still, the danger was worth it because within those trees were the Dungeon Fruits that we would be sending up to Rivira and the surface for quite a pretty valis. They ranged from the size of a crab apple all the way up to pineapple in size, and because they were that small we could pile hundreds upon hundreds upon hundreds of them in our wagon and take them back up.
Unfortunately, they tended to spoil within a week of being plucked, so we had to prioritize them over the monster cores we were collecting from the various dinosaur-type monsters, so we found a nice spot that was out of the way on the 28th Floor safe area and began piling our monster cores and drop items there.
There was always a possibility that someone could take some of it, but the sheer amount we had made it highly unlikely that anyone would be able to steal it all. Besides, at anywhere from 2,500 to 7,500 valis per fruit, we would be making a significant amount of money regardless. We could fit just under 500 fruits if we piled them up and secured them with a tarp, which meant that every day we were sending up almost 2.5 Million valis worth of Dungeon Fruits.
So many in fact that we'd probably depress the markets for a few weeks while everything attained equilibrium after we stopped our flow. It was even better for Rivira because they would be pulling in almost 7.5 Million valis per day as long as the prices held out, and that money would go a long way to helping them purchase important items like Mithril weapons and stronger bows.
It took the Dungeon fruits about a week to regrow, so we made a circuit where we plucked fruits from particular groves and then left them to rest while we moved onto different groves the following days.
I fought the monsters under the watchful eye of Vornir, though I learned very quickly that the man was less willing to intervene than my Tsubaki-nee had; I had more than once almost had my arm munched off because the older smith had decided that experiencing almost debilitating amounts of pain was the best teacher a man could have.
It… sucked.
It was jarring, to say the least- I was no stranger to pain, especially since I'd become an Adventurer, but Vornir was more than willing to let me get injured to the point where only a High-Quality potion could mend my injuries.
Later on, I would thank my sempai- in smithing and in life- for letting me learn those difficult lessons, but at the time I really missed the Tsubaki-nee who'd cleave a monster's head from his shoulder with her knife hand before flicking me on the forehead and admonishing me for getting distracted in a fight.
Thankfully, Vornir didn't let this training mindest extend to Asfi, as she was only here to be an extra body and help us gather the Dungeon Fruits, as that was how I was paying her half a million valis salary, but the old dwarf had her fighting at least a quarter of the monsters we drew to us every day. He was much like me in the fact that we both thought that she relied far too much on her toys to kill monsters and that negatively affected her abilities as an Adventurer.
He had her close by to watch my fights, and it was pretty cool that I was being used as an example of how to properly Adventure to someone who would be held up in a few year's time as one of the City's "Greats".
Now, if only he would keep his commentary just a touch quieter while I was fighting.
A grunt escaped my lips as I threw myself into a diving roll underneath the snapping jaws of the Bloodsaurus that had been bearing down on me; it was a risky maneuver considering the monsters had no qualms with dragging their jaws on the ground like a snow plow, but I learned that the monster's had terrible frontal vision, so if I stayed on my feet then they keep their heads level with my body, allowing me to drop low at the last moment and avoid their charge altogether.
"Ha! You see what he did there, girle!?"
I completed my roll and swung my weapon with all the force I could muster at the beast's tendon, and the unnamed Nosteel longsword that I'd forged just before coming down here bit into the flesh; the weapon was excellent, and I felt no small sense of satisfaction as I saw the tendon tear and retract up into the monster's leg, the retreating sinew bulging up noticeably as I essentially hamstrung the beast. The Bloodsaurus roared in anger and agony as its leading leg gave out from underneath it and it skidded along the grassy plains, and I had to leap to the right to avoid the angry swipe from the thiccc, meaty tail.
I quickly circled around and leaped into the air, bringing my blade down between my legs like I was a certain Ocarina slinging Time Traveler from the lands of Hyrule; the Nosteel sunk into the scales and parted the monster's skull, and I wriggled the blade around like a blender to make sure that the fucker was good and dead.
However, I was forced to relinquish the weapon and hop off the Bloodsaurus' noggin because another one of the fucker's had come to play as well. The issue for me was that I was mid-air, and that allowed it to spin on one leg and it slammed into me like a runaway freight train.
A roar of pain escaped my lips as my right arm and all of the ribs on my right side cracked under the force of the blow, and I was hurled across the plains, my body kicking up grass and plumes of dust as I skidded across the hilltops of the dusty prairie.
I barely managed to turn my ungraceful display into something salvageable by tucking tighter and then opening my body up once I had a firm grasp as to how I was oriented compared to the ground- my boots dug into the ground. Rather than try to stop my backward momentum by digging my toes in I allowed the force to continue to carry me away from the charging Bloodsaurus as I reflexively grasped the short Songwood staff attached to the back of my harness and began chanting.
"All hail the spirits of the forest,"
"The keepers of the mountains,"
"The carpet of the earth,"
"Let the unfortunate feel the relief of your healing breath,"
"Let the cuts be mended, the bruises be healed,"
"O' great spirits of the forest, come to me,"
"Let the sintered bone be splint, let the blood be returned,"
"Rejoice in this harmony, for the whispers of Gaia shall bring thee peace,"
"Forest Breeze."
A sigh of relief left my lungs as my fractured arm and ribs were set back into place and healed, and not a moment too soon as the giant, 15-foot-tall Dinosaur managed to cross the intervening distance in the 8 seconds it took for me to finish the spell.
I rolled to the side to avoid its charge and pulled my spare Nosteel longsword from its sheath on my back, but the beast barely gave me any time to strike as I was forced to lay flat on the ground- its thick tail sailing just over my head, close enough to tickle the hairs on the back of my neck. I sprung to my feet and dashed forward as fast as my legs could carry me, and I side-stepped its chomping jaws so that I could leap and pierce its chest cavity with the blade; the grey metal sinking all the way up to the hilt. Rather than letting the weight of my body pull me and my weapon free I clenched my core and brought the soles of my boots against its chest and I kicked off, holding one hand out to catch the ground.
Instead of turning the maneuver into a back handspring, which would have conserved my momentum and sent me further away, I knew that was folly; I would only be putting myself back in front of the beast's jaws, and having been munched on twice before from similar mistakes I had learned really quick that while their frontal vision is shit their sense of smell is pretty damn strong. Strong enough to pluck me from the air and toss me around like an excited dog would a chew toy.
Those teeth were sharp and incredibly pointy- only my obscene armor layering saved me from having my heart and lungs punctured.
So, rather than subject myself to that again I clenched my whole body and swung my feet down to the earth, the impact cratering the ground underneath me. My freshly healed arm, ankles, and knees screamed in protest at my rough movements but being able to leap in again as the monster back peddled away and stab it right in the core this time was well worth it; I felt the crystalized mana shatter under the force of my thrust as the Nosteel punched between its ribs and punctured its heart.
The Bloodsaurus was fading away to ash as I crested the hill and jogged my way back towards Asfi and Vornir; the closer I got the better I could make out my sempai's words.
"So, you can see that while he had dealt what should be a killing blow the Bloodsaurus didn't automatically turn to dust," Vornir's rumbling voice carried easily over the hills, "Because of that his weapon was stuck in its carcass and that forced him into a very unenviable position. Can you tell me what he did next?"
"He… abandoned his weapon?" It sounded unsure, but Asfi wasn't the most experienced with martial combat; no doubt she had been trained to never relinquish her weapon at all, "Though I thought you weren't supposed to leave your weapon behind?"
"You don't leave your weapon behind if it's your only way of handling the monsters you're fighting," Vornir scoffed, "Ideally you would be able to last long enough barehanded until you were able to recover your weapon. However, he avoids such a scenario by making sure he has multiple weapons on his person."
I could see Asfi's lips thin into a firm line as she watched me sheath my second Nosteel longsword and walk over to where my primary blade rested in the grass next to a grapefruit-sized monster core. Upon checking the weapon over, searching for cracks, chips, and bends I swung the weapon around a few times before trotting back over to them; you never sheathed your weapon in an area like this, not when the Packosaurs could pop up at any moment; the wolf-sized, featherless velociraptor-expys were keen to use the tall grass to sneak up on you like the ambush predators they were.
"Keep that in mind when you get back to the surface, girle. Your little baubles are indeed fierce and powerful weapons, but you run into the same issue that all Archers have, and that is you are limited by how many of your explosive globes you can carry," Vornir huffed as he scrubbed the side of his cheek with his adamantium hammer hand, "They should be something that will give you an edge, not your whole combat style. You say that you always make sure to pack enough for whatever expedition you're going on, but what happens when you are forced into a situation that is outside your calculations? What will you do then? I can guarantee you that little Nosteel shortsword you're carrying around will only see you safely up to the 27th floor- it won't be long enough to penetrate deep enough… as you are no doubt experiencing already."
Asfi's lip curled in embarrassment as she ducked her head to hold back the tears pricking at the corners of her eyes.
Reality sucks, Asfi-chan, and I know that more than anyone else.
Though you really should not cry, I didn't see you get munched on by a Bloodsaurus these past two weeks.
Still, Vornir-sempai had a point- she had to bleed each and every monster she fought that was bigger than a Packosaur dry with long, sweeping lacerations because her two feet of blade couldn't penetrate deep enough to hit anything vital or pierce their cores. Vornir and I made sure to handle everything else that tried to join in on her 1v1s.
The old dwarf patted the woman's head with his meaty paw, "Don't worry about it though, girlie. When we get back up top I'll make you a nice Nosteel longsword, and I'll only charge you at cost! Quite a generous deal if I do say so myself."
I nodded while he chuckled, "That is a great deal, though I would make sure to remember that is more than just you in your familia, Asfi-san. If you're blowing your familia's budget on explosives then that means your familia members are running around with High Steel crap or even something else stupid, like throwing rocks or something."
Her face screwed up into something unsightly- regret and shame painting her features. "Besides, there really isn't any need to fret- good weapons are 'Buy once, cry once'. If you get them good gear now then they won't have as much room to complain when you do decide to spend too much on big booms."
That didn't help, really, but it wasn't meant to- I wanted her to wake the fuck up and realize that her familia needed real weapons and armor too.
While I'd kept my questions innocuous about her current familia members, what she did tell me was enough for me to start dropping some hints.
I don't care how skilled a woman is with her whip, it wasn't a weapon that should be in the Dungeon.
Vornir gave me a raised eyebrow, the old dwarf mouthing the words "busybody" to me with a small smile on his face. He then clapped his flesh and blood hand against his adamantium hammer hand, "I think that is enough for today! So why don't we take these fruits down to Rivira and you two can go slip away to do your mystical magic training? Sound good?"
A sigh of relief escaped my lips and I nodded gratefully.
The roars of a trio of Bloodosaurus along with the screeching of a Glideodon- one of the flying, pterodactyl-like monsters- filled the air.
Vornir grinned and patted me on the shoulder. "Protect us as we usher our cart and horse back to Rivira, Bell-kun, you can do it, laddie!"
I groaned and reached back to grasp my staff as I cast Magician's Wonder and Total Body in sequence- I was going to need the extra 308 stat points to deal with the monsters before they could get close to the wagons. Thankfully they were still a ways out, so I could handle the first two Bloodsaurus and then shoot the Glideodon out of the sky-
I continued my musings as I moved in front of the wagon, and about thirty meters into my run toward my quarry a dozen fucking Packosaurs leaped out of the tall grass like a bunch of rabid dogs. Fuck! I hate these guys!
"STORM CIRCLE!" I roared out, and in a fifteen-meter radius around me lighting arced out from my body, the magical electricity slipping into their bodies and interrupting their nervous systems so that I could quickly stab their paralyzed bodies. However, despite having killed off the initial wave more poked their heads out of the tall grass, eyeing me warily and clicking their tongues. They weren't going to leave us alone because these weren't wild animals- they were Dungeon monsters, and if I didn't hunt them all down right now they would just ambush us while I was fighting the bigger threats.
They turned around and began loping away.
I hate these little bastards more than anything!
[Later that evening]
A happy sigh escaped my lips as Vornir and I looked over the roiling crucible of High Steel as we pulled it out of the large furnace.
The five smiths of Rivira were busy pulling the ingot molds away from the blazing fires and lining them up perfectly in multiple rows- it was important to heat the molds to not only ensure that any moisture was burned away, but also to prevent them from cracking as the liquid metal was poured into them. With our strength, it was easy for my former familia Captain and me to grasp the large crucibles with the tongs and pour them into the molds without spilling a single drop.
We'd spent the last hour tearing down old swords and other broken weapons, separating the scrap into Low Grade, Mid Grade, and High-Grade steel, and then we tossed the scraps into the corresponding crucibles and set them into the furnace to melt down. The Low Steel components would be used to fashion short-bladed knives, shovels, hand axes, nails, and silverware while the Mid Grade steel would later be used to make spearheads, arrowheads, and other "disposable" weapons. The High Steel would be used for the weapons that would useful for the traveling parties that would take monster cores, drop items, and other items back up to the surface to be sold at the Guild to purchase important equipment; according to Bors the village of Rivira had an expense account with the Guild that valis could be drawn from the make the supply purchases in the city.
We had only been down here for three weeks and already I was seeing a lot of the new purchases that Bors had directed his trusted Lieutenants to pick up now that the Rivira expense account was bursting at the metaphorical seams; building and construction materials, more weapons- bows, arrows, and spears being the primary purchases- and I also noticed about a dozen brand new wagons and an equal number of fresh horses. Already the village of Rivira was bustling with new life as they began stockpiling for another move.
According to Bors the village of Rivira had been destroyed and rebuilt almost a dozen times now, and while everyone was stalwart and hearty there was a desire among the people living there to tear down the village and rebuild it someplace more defensible. They were currently positioned near the entrance to the 18th floor, but even doing a cursory inspection around the Under Resort you could find far more defensible positions with better access to important resources like water if you looked- the issue was they had never really had the time or supplies to move over and set up shop.
The Dungeon really didn't seem to mind as long as one didn't try to dig down into the Dungeon floor itself, and already Vornir, Asfi, and myself have been dragged into a few strategy and planning sessions for the impending move to greener pastures. In the center of the Under Resort was a massive tree that looked to me to be the best possible spot for them to shift the village over to- it had the best sight lines due to the large, elevated hill it stood on, its centralized location made it easy to respond to monster incursions from the 17th and 19th floors, and because of the massive raised roots of the tree itself, they could build the village at the base of the tree and only have to worry about walling off the front.
While I wasn't a Combat Engineer I had spent most of my Army career practicing on how to assault highly defensible locations with light infantry, and my gut was telling me that the base of the tree was likely the best location for the village to be shifted over to. Vornir agreed with me, and he offered to help act as a go-between between Hephaestus and other Gods and Goddesses of Construction; he along with a small handful of others within the familia were part of the old guard that still acted as foremen on important construction projects.
Creating a fortified village without digging down to secure a stable foundation was a challenge that the old dwarf thought to be a worthy challenge, and he was certain that there were others who thought the same.
I myself was merely looking towards the future- a more stable Rivira would only be a boon to future dives, and if we could take Rivira's success and replicate it on other Safe Floors deeper in the Dungeon then it would make conquering the damn thing that much easier. Still, it would be another few months before Rivira would be able to make the move, but in the meanwhile, they followed our advice and began making large purchases for building stones, paving stones, and the like; the building materials would be staged at the base of the tree so that when everything was ready they could start construction.
I wiped a fair amount of sweat off my brow as I sat the emptied crucible back inside the slowly cooling furnace and moved over to the bucket of water provided to cleanse the soot and dust from my arms, neck, and face. I had just finished washing the soap from my head when I felt a meaty paw clap on my shoulder, but considering I've felt that singular hand for the past four years I didn't need to look to know that it was Vornir.
"Alright, laddie, good work, as always. Go ahead and head to your little, heh-heh, late-night rendezvous with the little Miss. Just be sure to not stay up too late, we've got to forge a dozen swords from this here fine steel before we head out in the morning," Vornir's rumbling words caused a few of the other smiths to chuckle.
I understand that we're not exactly advertising that Asfi Al Andromeda is providing me lessons, but can we at least make it sound like we're not sneaking off for some nookie!? I already have more women than I could ever hope to handle without the falna bolstering my stamina, let's not raise any flags for more!
I shook my head as I wrung the dirty washcloth out and tossed the bucket of cloudy water over the high wooden wall, "Of course, Vornir-oji-sama, I'll be here."
With that I made my way through Rivira toward the other side of the village where the small motel was, and as I walked inside I walked over and knocked on the wooden beam that held up the roof next to the curtain of Asfi's room. "Asfi-san, I'm back. Give me ten minutes to wash up real fast and change my clothes and we can head out."
"Of course, Cranel-kun. I will be waiting," Came the Hermes familia Captain's cool reply.
I stopped by my room and dug into my bag to grab a washcloth, an unscented bar of lye soap, a change of clothes as well as my towel before heading around the back. With a small wave to Bors, who was sitting in front of the firepit in his tree trunk-turned-chair smoking a pipe filled with a sweet-smelling tobacco, I walked to the edge of the village walls.
"Hey, Bandi, I'm going to hop the wall and take a quick bath at the lake," I spoke out to one of the few Rivira members I recognized who was seated on a long-legged watch chair overlooking the wall, "If I ain't back in fifteen minutes send a search party, okay?"
"Che, yeah right, kid. You're almost a Level 4- if someone was able to take you out, even buck naked with your cock in your hand, then the only one we could send out to look for you would be Vornir-sama," The grizzled Level 2 waved his hand at me, "But alright, kid. Enjoy your bath."
A chuckle escaped my lips as I crouched down and then leaped over the fifteen-foot high wooden wall with the barest amount of effort, my knees bending to easily absorb the impact of my fall; even after all of these years it was amazing that I was capable of such feats- to think that leaping 15 feet and then landing would be no more difficult than walking down a simple step. Truly, my life was mind-boggling.
As I jogged towards the nearest lake I ruminated on how insane it was that I was able to kill monsters with a sword that would have required an Abram Main Battle Tank to kill in my past life. The title for one of those "Versus Battles" on Youtube spun through my mind- "Who Would Win? The 1st Armored Division or some Dinosaur Bois?"
The Under Resort's 'Night Light' in the sky gave off a faint blue glow that was reminiscent of a full moon, and with my considerable night vision it was easy to see into the crystal clear waters of the Dungeon lake in front of me, but a quick loop around the shoreline along with a few high hops into the air gave me enough peace of mind to shuck off my boots and clothes.
Just because a water-based monster had never been spotted in Rivira yet doesn't mean that one couldn't! With the shiftiness of Evilus and the Dungeon you really couldn't rule anything out.
I dived into the water, my enhanced constitution allowing me to ignore the cold temperatures; my calloused fingers scrubbed at my scalp for a minute before I surfaced and waded over to my dirty clothes. Lathering up my hands I scrubbed at the soot-covered fabric, before rinsing it in the water, and then I went about cleaning my body- sitting on my freshly washed shirt so that I could scrub my toes and feet firmly with my washcloth; foot fungus was still something that could affect Adventurers, and while there were plenty of tinctures and salves that could be purchased up on the surface considering we'd be down here another month at least I decided that cleanliness was next to Godliness.
I got dressed after toweling off, and after wringing the water from my freshly washed clothes I was heading back towards Rivira at a healthy trot. With a quick wave to Bandi I hopped the wall and entered the motel and moved back to my room, hanging up my clothes before pulling out my study materials from the thick Damascus steel foot locker.
"Asfi-san, I'm ready to go," I called out softly, and hearing the swishing of cloth I stepped out of my room and stood in front of the young woman.
"Then, let us go, Bell Cranel-san, there is much to cover tonight."
Honestly, there really wasn't.
Mystery, when it was boiled down to a single, easily digestible blurb, was a Developmental Ability that allowed the user to pull upon Divine magic- a literal miracle- and use that magic to create magical items.
I thought that I would be learning a complex system, with various levers, dials, and switches that needed to be manipulated to create a magical effect on an item. Like the Blacksmith Developmental Ability, where there were certain methods that had to be used with certain items to create certain magical effects.
If you wanted a more lubricious blade, one that wouldn't get caught in a monster's body, then you could use a War Shadow's Claw to get that effect. If you were someone, say a whip wielder, and you wanted a more springy, energetic whip, then you could Imbue the whip with a Frog Shooter's tongue to increase elasticity. If you wanted tougher, more durable armor then you could use a variety of different monster hides or items, such as Killer Ant Chitin, to obtain that effect.
Insert Forging, the process of inserting magical properties by directly incorporating monster drop items into the metal, Draw Forging, creating weapons or armor directly from the monster drop items themselves, and Imbuing, lacing the magical properties into an already created item, were all the vehicles in which the Blacksmith ability worked. Within the familia there is a binder that listed all of the other ways that different smiths over the centuries had tried to make the Developmental Ability work differently, and to date, out of over a hundred and twenty-three different methods, no one has been able to make the ability work differently.
So, I thought that with a Developmental Ability like Mystery, one that is arguably just as powerful- if not more so- than Blacksmith, there would also be a similar system in place. A system of checks and balances that would prevent something from being too powerful or unstable.
It turns out that there really is nothing like that.
Why?
Because the ability uses actual, factual miracles to create said magical items.
Of course, there are limitations, such as you need to use good materials and the form of the item has to at least somewhat match the function- you couldn't create a magical broom that would sweep up all of the dust with a sword… no, a halberd with a nice, big ax head would function much better.
A user of the Mystery DA was pretty much only limited by their available Mind pool with which to fuel the miracle and their own imagination.
It was horribly broken.
Or… at least that is what I would think if this was a video game. Imagine being a game developer and then giving Crafting players in an MMO access to all of the sliders and base coding in order to create their own items as long as they had the resources and mana to construct them. It would objectively be insane- totally cool for a little while- but insane.
However, this was not a video game. This was real life, where being incredibly overpowered was the goal.
The issue is that Mystery is a pretty rare Developmental Ability, with the requirements for having it show up being a… mystery to everyone, even to the Divines who have Magic as their very domain; I hedged my bets, believing that showing aptitude towards creation and magic, was something that heightened one's chances for unlocking the ability. I fulfilled those requirements by having Blacksmith and Mage as my Developmental Abilities, and if it didn't pop up at my next Rank Up then I would probably pick Metalworking; of the two known holders of Mystery in Orario both Lenoa the Witch and Asfi had Metalworking, at least that was if you listened to the rumors.
So Mystery was essentially a "I wish that this item had 'X' attributes and 'Y' abilities attached to it" and then applying Mind while utilizing the ability; the strength of the enchantment directly corresponded to how much time the user spent on their meditation with said item and how much Mind was used in the item's creation.
It was no wonder why Asfi was actually excited by the prospect of teaching me for such a large sum of money; after the first few hours of lecturing the remainder of her lessons boiled down to her using the materials she brought and making them in front of me. The items she created were placed in her little "Bag of Holding" and she would hold onto them until we were finished down here, and once we returned to the surface she would have a whole bevy of magical items to sell to the few shops she trusted to give her a good price.
A writing quill that held an infinite amount of ink within its tines.
A fine charcoal pencil that never needed to be sharpened and never broke as long as it was handled with care.
A compact mirror that could "zoom in" on facial problems and highlight areas where makeup was applied incorrectly or too thickly.
A sleeping mask that offered unparalleled beauty rest to whoever wore it, and they would wake up after exactly seven hours of sleep feeling refreshed and full of energy.
A tube of lipstick that never wore away, allowing someone to use the same tube indefinitely.
Asfi had created other magical items, of course, but the majority of her work was centered around small items that gave people who could afford them an improved quality of life.
I internally rolled my eyes at the young woman who stereotypically turned towards making magical cosmetic items, but considering they were incredibly easy to make, low cost to purchase the materials, and sold for vastly increased sums of valis I couldn't really fault her. Especially after learning that she bankrolls pretty much the entirety of the familia's exploits around the world- the few months out of the year that they were in the city and delving into the Dungeon it was mainly to allow Hermes to touch base with his "clients" and to fulfill their quota of successful Dungeon dives to maintain their status on the roles as an Exploration-type familia. In Hermes' eyes, the fact that upholding said obligations generated some useful income was merely a bonus.
Honestly, it sort of pissed me off- such a lazy jerkass didn't deserve such a hard-working young woman; he was the Divine equivalent to a dead-beat boyfriend who let his girl pay for all of his things at the gas station while he hung over her in public with his hands in her pockets.
It only solidified in my mind how lucky I was to have such an amazing Goddess in Hephaestus, and how lucky the future members of Hestia's familia were going to be once she finally descended to Gekai.
So, after the first few days of actual learning, we'd settled into a routine where she would make magical items and I would ask whatever questions came to mind.
During my questioning, I found out that if I used monster drop items that had properties that corresponded to the effects that I was trying to get out of the item then it would be much easier to make it. After some gentle probing, I found out that Asfi had yet to make the Hades Head, a magical helmet that could turn her invisible to the naked eye without needing to dip into her Mind stores. I posited to her a possibility that if she were to use Skull Sheep wool then a helmet of invisibility might not be outside the realm of possibility.
Though I did remind her that even if she was invisible she would need to take care of the other two senses that High-Class Adventurers could rely on- their hearing and sense of smell- into consideration; if she ever found herself fighting a rogue Adventurer or monster that was stronger than her then muffling the noise she made along with neutralizing her scent would be important. Along with a weapon that was sharp enough to pierce even the toughest hides; an Adamantium ice-pick would suit that purpose nicely- it would be small, lightweight, easily concealable, and if she stabbed them in the carotid artery or in the eye then she might be able to cause enough damage to get them to back off or die.
Though she better hope that her alpha strike killed them quickly or she would be in trouble.
Together the pair of us created a shoe covers with an elastic-like band that she could slip over her heeled sandals, and they did an excellent job of muffling her footsteps; I had to close my eyes and focus intensely in order to hear where she was coming from. In the heat of battle that would be more difficult to do, but if they were Level 6 then they would hear her regardless. An amulet that contained a small coin-sized portion of soap was able to de-scent her body, at least to my nose; the amulet, when in use, actually consumed the soap, but since it was soap she would have no issues keeping it fed.
I was thankful that we did our testing alone in the woods because I would not have wanted to try and explain why I was smelling her armpits after she hadn't bathed in three days to confirm that the amulet did indeed work.
She would have to get her cheinthrope or weretiger familia members with more sensitive noses to confirm it, but I felt like we had something that worked!
It was honestly quite fun to see her so enthusiastic about working with me, even if she tried to play it off like the fake 'cool beauty' that she was; she'd had the Mystery DA for years now and had gotten so focused on making items that made her lots of money for little cost that her drive to create new and different things had cooled. It took some time, but she eventually admitted that she hadn't felt this excited about creating new magical items since she first created the winged heels that took her up into the clouds.
"So, Asfi-sensei," I spoke up as we entered into a clearing that Asfi had chosen for us to work in while I was handling things at Rivira's forge; the woman had been quite paranoid about working close to the village, and she never worked in the same place twice. "What are we working on tonight?"
Granted, I could understand her unease- if people found out just how easy it was to create the magical items that they paid top valis for then there would be a riot; she paid 10,000 valis for a tube of top-shelf lipstick, spent ten minutes enchanting it, and then turned around and sold it to various wealthy ladies and Goddesses for almost twenty times the price; she didn't even bother gilding the bottomless lipstick in gold either- the woman selling to her customers the idea that such a 'mundane' lipstick case wouldn't be the target for theft like magical items were.
"Here is far enough," Asfi spoke, the young woman reaching into her bottomless pouch to pull out a thick cushion that she placed onto the grass in the clearing. After that she took a seat, sitting crosslegged with her back against the trunk of the closest tree; a cloth came out next and she unfolded it. Upon the cloth, she placed out five tubes of lipstick and four compacts that were gilded with gold and silver accent trims.
Ah, looks like we're having a brainstorming night tonight.
These brainstorming sessions were pretty much just the two of us throwing ideas at each other while she enchanted whatever items she needed to enchant for the night; some nights she created items that needed her complete concentration, and I watched on silently while writing things down in my notebook. On nights like this, where she was handling easy enchantments that didn't require her attention- only a steady trickle of Mind- we talked back and forth.
Of course, we'd made a verbal pact that all ideas discussed we could both produce said items, and we would establish a contract where we would set our prices similarly so as not to inflate the markets. I know that she kept some ideas to herself, just as I did- we were student and teacher for now, but once I got my Mystery DA then? Then we would be rivals.
"I was thinking about something that we could use to give those traveling deeper into the Dungeon better rest," She began as she picked up a lipstick tube, a soft blue glow enveloping it, "My sleeping masks are quite the hit with the nobles and Goddesses, but Adventurers are a lot that cares about their appearances."
"That and your masks are enchanted to not wake them up until seven hours have passed, and from what you've told me… unless someone physically takes the mask off of the sleeping person then they sleep like the dead; no amount of sound or jostling will wake them," I leaned back against my own tree, notebook in hand, my charcoal pencil sketching out circular lines, "That's incredibly dangerous in the Dungeon."
Her lips firmed into a thin line, "Agreed."
"So, why not something like a travel pillow?" I asked, flipping over to a new page, my pencil sketching out a rectangular pillow. She thankfully let me finish my quick drawings, "Something made out of the stomach or bladder of an animal. Stitched to be airtight with a tube or valve that would allow the user to inflate the pillow with air by blowing into it; then when they're ready to go they can just deflate the pillow, roll it up and put it back in their packs. Maybe make a sleeve out of soft animal fur for added comfort. Reduce the strength of the enchantment so that someone can be woken up easily without grogginess, and maybe helps calm the mind so that falling asleep is easier instead of magically inducing the sleep."
She blinked and I saw her lips curl up as she held my sketchbook up to the light of the crystal hanging from the floor above us. "Yes, that seems like it would be a definite way to improve longer expeditions."
There was something in her tone that drew my attention, and I peered more closely at her, "Asfi. Are you… alright? Have you been having trouble sleeping?"
She blinked and her lower lip was caught between her teeth as she averted her gaze. "I… have been, yes. It's just… I've never stayed down in the Dungeon this long before."
A sigh escaped her lips and her head thunked against the tree trunk, "The longest we've ever been down here before was four days, and yet here we are more than two weeks later and… I can't help but shake the feeling. This sense of unease. It's like the Dungeon is whispering to me, ratcheting up my anxiety and making it… hard to sleep."
I nodded to her as she handed me my book back.
Honestly? I'd never really experienced what she was currently feeling before, but everyone handles things differently; I was right at home sleeping under my poncho in the woods but there were some of my fellow Rangers that just couldn't sleep well unless they were in a barracks.
I worked my jaw a little bit, "If… you'd like, I can move my bed into your room and you can use one of your masks to get a good night's rest. If anything happens you can be sure that I'll wake you up."
Asfi opened her mouth as her chest inflated, but I guess that there was something about my earnest gaze- and the fact that I wasn't a full-grown man- that quelled her objection. She blinked and gave me a small nod, "I would like that, I think. A good night's rest is something I'm going to need if Vornir-sama is going to have me fighting those Bloodsaurus again."
"Yeah, he's going to make you fight again for sure, but hey- look at it this way," I nodded with a small but reassuring smile of my own, "You're getting some time away from your troublesome God, making magic items that are going to net you a lot of valis, getting training from one of the premier Level 5s of the previous age, and you're getting paid to do it! Sounds like a damn good deal to me!"
A snort escaped her lips and she shook her head, "I suppose that for a little monster like yourself this would be a great deal, huh?"
We lapsed into an amiable silence for the rest of the night until she was finished enchanting her items. The walk back was just as quiet, neither one of us breaking the mood, and when we got back to the motel I quietly slipped my bedframe into her room while stuffing our footlockers under my bed; it was a very tight fit, with just enough space between our beds to slide our legs, but like hell was I going to do something stupid like sleep on the floor! I paid for a bed and I would sleep in it!
The footlockers were just small enough to fit underneath the bedframes, and clad in my pants for the next day I laid down and closed my eyes and went to sleep.
When I woke up the next morning I found out firsthand that Asfi Al Andromeda was a clingy sleeper- the women had crossed that little gap between our beds and wrapped around me like a limpet. Thankfully she was still wearing her mask, so I was able to carefully place her back in her bed and put the covers over her before I took the facemask off of her and woke her up.
While she was yawning and sitting up I was dragging my bedframe and footlocker back into my bedroom, getting dressed the rest of the way, and waiting out the boner I'd popped at feeling the woman's firm, feminine flesh against me.
Hopefully, that wouldn't be a regular thing, but considering my luck with attracting women into my orbit I… no, I was taking gigantic leaps in logic; this was a death world. It was also an anime harem-romcom world.
I shook my head as I straightened out my clothes and began the process of limbering up; I had two hours in the forge before we headed out, and it was always smart to have stretched properly.
Let's just hope that the next few weeks turn out to be as productive as the past two weeks.
Special thanks to Lmc9389, Artillery, AuraofCalm, Mioismoe, D. Wongsonegoro, Darkarma, Acrimonius, T. Balewood, Randall Randall, Dominyx Black, CyberCrisis, Blue, Russ Stilter, Legion_13, Mike Fatal_Bullet, P. Nguyen, J. Ricardo Passos, K. Weierbach, R. Alderman, A P, Arrorn, PbookR, Mortaegus, Nevets309, and Jake95044 for being Patrons!
You guys rock!
So this chapter ended up being longer than anticipated, but by the next chapter I think we should be getting into the meat and potatoes of the Astrea Record arc. This is the build up, showing off the training, hard work, and aquisition of knowledge needed to make all of the parts and pieces fit together in a satisfying manner.
I still haven't watched the video yet, so I can't speculate as to how the whole event is going to play out here, but I've been getting some good feelings about what I have written so far. Despite the fact that I didn't even know that this was a thing a few days ago I really fell like this is going to be a lot of fun for both you and me!
The fact that it gives me some sort of narrative framework to follow and fuck up at my leisure really makes things a lot easier- writing unique content for something like Danmachi when there is a lot of wriggle room is both very easy and very difficult when you aren't riding the rails of canon; you have to come up with cool things and then you have to make sure that it is internally consistent/or plausible within the framework of the setting. So there is a lot of pressure on me to write something engaging- like my interpretation of the Blacksmith DA and how it works, along with the Mystery DA.
With so much space to world build there is a unbridled possibilities, but also it means that there is plenty to screw up.
Hope you all enjoy this chapter!
Interlude - Asfi/Hephaestus
[4 Weeks Later (7 weeks in the Dungeon)]
[Asfi Al Andromeda]
"So, you think I'm good, Vornir-sama?" Bell Cranel spoke as he watched the last of the monster cores and drop items that they had collected during their many, many, many jaunts up to the Killing Fields. There was a small bit of worry evident in his voice as he looked back towards the entrance to the 29th Floor from atop the boulder he was sitting on, "I don't want to go all the way back only to end up being a few points short of my goal."
It was something that tickled her, a little bit- the boy was all formal with Vornir-sama when they were in front of other people, but when they were alone he dropped the '-sama' and it was replaced with '-oji'. She'd of course seen this before in other familias, but even in her rag-tag band of wandering Adventurers no one ever dropped the '-sama' for Lydia-sama, even if she was just as whimsical and lackadaisical as Hermes-sama.
"Heh, my boy, after watching you pour your blood, sweat, and tears into these past eight weeks I would honestly be more surprised if you didn't reach your goal!" The stocky, red-haired dwarf, Vornir ran a hand through his beard as a visible smile pulled at his lips.
Asfi felt her own lips quirk up in response to the dwarf's words, but she chose not to interrupt their back and forth banter; despite having been with them for the past two months she still felt like the fifth wheel on a wagon even though the pair did their best to keep her included on their discussions during the travel time back and forth from Rivira.
As silly as it made her feel, Asfia Al Andromeda had grown up within the Hermes familia hearing stories about Vornir 'One Eye'- the man had been one of the preeminent Level 5s during the Age of Two; when Zeus and Hera had been at the helm of Orario the number of Level 5s that weren't within their familias could be counted on two hands. If you were an Adventurer with a drop of talent within your body you joined other familias to make enough of a name for yourself so that you could get scouted to join them- the men went to Zeus and the women went to Hera; according to Hermes-sama, it had been a dark millennium for the smaller families of Orario, as their top Children were poached left and right.
The only ones that stuck around were those that had been born and raised within the familia, the Children too loyal to abandon the 'mothers and fathers' that raised them to run off to the Big Two in search of money, power, and fame beyond belief.
Vornir 'One-Eye' had been among the top Adventurers that had been invited to drink and eat at Zeus' table many times, and each time he shrugged the offers off with a laugh and a rakish grin- the man stating that he would rather make weapons for the best than to stand among them. He made weapons for all of the Zeus and Hera Executives once his mentor passed away, and while he looked like he would be more at home in the forge the living legend had shown that the adamantium hammer he'd had grafted in place of his hand wasn't just for pounding steel into shape.
He epitomized the ideal that loyalty to one's Divine was something that should be unshakeable, and he inspired her to do the same. Though, in the back of her mind, she admitted that it would be a lot easier to tell interested parties 'No' if Hermes-sama acted a bit more like Hephaestus-sama; he was childish, rude, irreverent, and often times he played dangerous games with dangerous people when it wasn't just his vacation on the line.
Her Captain, Lydia, and Hermes were a match made in hell, those two were far too alike for Asfi's comfort; they played fast and loose, taking serious gambles when the stakes were far too high. They believed that they knew people better than they knew themselves, and while they were right more often than they were not, the few times they rubbed the wrong person the wrong way often ended in a running battle against forces their familia was ill-equipped to handle. Their familia had a single Level 4 in Lydia, and only two Level 3's in the form of Asfi herself and Falgar, the weretiger in charge of their small familia's vanguard. Everyone else- Lulune, Golmeth, Elilly, Pock, Pot, Jose, Tabitha, Suicia, Thane, Keaks, Nelly, Meryl, Dodon, Laurier, and Gina- were all Level 1s.
Sure, some of them were borderline Level 2, but when your God was constantly poking at the underbelly of the various criminal organizations in the world they needed to be much stronger than they were!
Better equipped too.
Asfi felt her chest burn at the constant reminders that being properly equipped for the necessary task at hand was just as important as being the proper Rank.
If it had been anyone else she could have brushed it off as an annoyance, but when the advice came from one of your idols? When it was not just told to you, but shown to you in as visceral a manner as being pitted against monsters she should have been able to handle on her own but couldn't because her weapons were inadequate? The past eight weeks had been what Lydia-sama would call a "crash course in reality". She got to experience firsthand just what could go wrong when one was under-equipped for the task at hand.
Hells below, she was shown what could happen even if one was properly equipped for the task at hand!
Bell Cranel, though he preferred to be called 'Winters', was likely one of the most talented Adventurers she had ever seen, both young and old. Granted, her sample size was pretty much limited to her own familia as it wasn't exactly common to be in a situation where she could watch another familia train or fight unless you happened to pass by a battle in the Dungeon, but she could scarcely imagine one of her familia members being able to recover enough mental fortitude to continue fighting after having been swallowed whole by a Bloodsaurus!
Or being stomped on by one. Or kicked around by one. Or smacked across the prairie by one. Or almost bitten in half by one. Or knocked head over tail into a pack of Packosaurs and then almost body-slammed by the Bloodsaurs that put him into said pack of Packosaurs!
The boy seemed to handle it all with a steely-eyed determination that was drastically different from what she'd heard about his contemporary- the Sword Princess; if you'd listen to Hermes-sama's retellings of Loki-sama's proud ramblings the girl threw herself into danger head first without a second thought given to her own personal safety. In the meanwhile, Bell Cranel seemed to be able to make risk assessments mid-battle, dodging every attack he could and finding ways to minimize the danger the blows that he couldn't; there had been a reason he allowed himself to be swallowed whole by a Bloodsaurus!
From her position on the hill with Vornir-sama it had been plain to see that he could have chosen to be torn apart by three of the fifteen-foot tall beasts or be swallowed whole. He chose, in his Dwarf mentor's humble opinion, the best option; he essentially sought shelter within the beast's mouth, stabbing his blade through the monster's throat and allowing the swallowing action to take him close to the Bloodsaurus' core. With the core struck the monster exploded into ashes and then Bell only had to contend with two- a much more manageable number given his abilities.
It hadn't been a maneuver the young man had been particularly proud of, but it was a 'calculated risk' and one that worked out in his favor.
Despite Bell's apparent distaste for Hermes-sama he sure was more like her God than he thought!
Still, despite the danger, Vornir-sama kept a watchful eye over the both of them, and when the man felt like he had to step in… there was often nothing left of the monsters when the dwarf swung his hand; he fell down upon the beasts like the hammer of his Goddess, and always in the nick of time.
That didn't make the training experience with the pair any less nerve-wracking.
"Asfi-san, are you alright?"
Bell's question cut through the fog of her remembrances and she turned to fix the red-eyed boy with a small smile. "Now that all of this is over? I'm feeling a great deal better, Bell-kun."
The young teen shook his head with a wry smile on his face, "Yeah, I understand where you're coming from, Asfi-san. This little training expedition was a long one, and it would test even the most seasoned Adventurers to be down here this long, especially when the intensity was kept as high as it was."
Bell rubbed a hand along the cuirass on his chest, his fingers digging into the pockmarks and holes that dotted it; if Asfi was being honest it looked more hole than armor at this point- the repeatedly mended chainmail underneath shining silver in the afternoon light of the 28th Floor safe area. A small sigh escaped his lips as his eyes tracked past her face and up toward the pseudo-sky above them, "But, for what it's worth, Asfi-san, you not only stuck it out, but I think that you've improved quite a lot since we began. You're much more confident with a blade in your hand now than you were before, your steps are more sure, and your strikes have… a certain weight to them that they didn't have before."
He chuckled lightly as his red eyes once again focused on hers, "If anything else, you can actually kill something that's on your Level now; too many Adventurers want to have the Level and stat point advantage when they fight in the Dungeon, but more often than not you don't have that luxury."
He paused for a moment, his lips moving silently as his eyes darted around; it was… rare for her to see the young man at a loss for words- in the two months she's known him Bell Winters was rather eloquent, and other than a few mishaps he generally tried to think out his words before speaking.
After a few more seconds of deliberation, a small sigh left his lips. "Well, don't take this the wrong way, but…"
Asfi blinked, and she couldn't help but tense up- as if steeling herself for whatever words were about to come.
His hands fell away from his chest armor and fell onto his hips, a warm, genuine smile on his lips. "- if you don't hear this from anyone else, Asfi-san, then I want you to know that I am proud to see how far you've come during these past two months. You took probably one of the most grueling training trips that Orario has seen in years- took it right on the chin- and no matter how many times you got knocked on your ass you kept getting right back up."
His eyes crinkled as his grin stretched even wider, "You never gave up. You never complained. You never questioned why you were fighting with us when you were only hired to teach me. You recognized that this was a valuable experience, even if it was something that you wished you didn't have to do. That right there? That's true grit. Determination."
"So… congratulations on surviving, Asfi-san, and thank you for fighting with us." He gave her a shallow bow before he straightened himself out, a smile pulling at his cheeks.
Asfi wanted to avert her gaze because the young man's smile was blinding.
Entirely too earnest.
She was six years his senior and yet, for some reason, she could feel her heart thudding in her chest; the rushing of the blood in her ears made it difficult to hear anything else around her, but his words were clear as crystal. Instead, she settled for splaying her hand in front of her face, hoping that her fingers could shield her inflamed cheeks from view as she engaged in a maneuver that was the specialty of all meganeshojo everywhere; her middle finger pushed up the rim of her glasses in such a fashion that the light reflected off of it and obscured her eyes from sight entirely.
It was a technique that never failed to get people to listen to her words seriously, and now all she had to do was calm her heart and speak confidently. "A-ah, thank you for your kind words, Bell-kun."
She decided that while it wasn't an excellent delivery, it was passable.
His broad grin faded away into an amused smile, the boy's eyebrow arching up. He then spun on his heel and began walking away, waving at her from over his shoulder, "Well, we should be all loaded up here in the next few minutes, Asfi-san. The monster cores and drop items from your kills will be in the middle wagon- number 7- so if you want to watch over your earnings on the way back that's where they'll be!"
Asfi hopped off of the boulder and patted the dust from the back of her cloak before she adjusted her glasses once more.
She couldn't fight the feeling of joy that rose up within her breast because she was finally going home.
[Hephaestus]
"Hephaestus-sama, it appears that Winters-kun is close to returning," The aged voice of Helena, the familia's finance clerk, rung out across the room.
The Goddess of the Forge looked up from the paperwork covering her desk and a small smile blossomed on her face, and Hephaestus stood up from her chair and stretched, "Be a dear Helena and let Tsubaki-chan know as well?"
"Of course, Hephaestus-sama, I was just on my way," The old dwarf ginned, "Far be it for me to not inform my Lady Tsubaki that her Young Lord has returned from the Dungeon victorious."
The Goddess nodded as a chuckle escaped her lips. The young man had wormed his way into her Captain's heart and now it was, in her estimation, only a matter of time; Bell-kun was a fine young man, and in just a few short years time he would grow up to become someone any powerful woman would want to stand beside. Not that he wasn't already powerful, her favored Child was no doubt already a Level 4, and within a year he would soon be Level 5- he just needed his teenage body to catch up.
In any case, she was happy that Bell-kun had returned safely, and more importantly, she was thankful for the recent distraction from her paperwork; on her desk were far too many reports and requests, all asking for her attention.
The Guild was sending her a request to cease orders for their swords, both longswords and shortswords because they had more than their storehouses could hold; the 'Winters-Pattern' blades that they had been forging, while a little more costly on the steel, ended up being a much more durable blade, and because of that Adventurers weren't showing up looking for a replacement nearly as often. Also from the Guild was a request to know how many drop items and what variety she was looking to purchase for her forges this quarter.
Then there was the village of Rivira on the 18th Floor asking for some of her few remaining architects to look over the plans they were drawing up for a fortified village. Somehow her little troublemaker had gone and set up diplomatic relations between himself and the Under Resort; thankfully from Vornir-kun's periodic letters he had done it all in his name and not the familia's, or that might have led to some problems at the next Denatus. Now, it wasn't like there was any sort of neutrality agreements over the Under Resort, but the moment some enterprising Divine decided to expand their reach into the Dungeon they would immediately turn it into a race to see who could establish the next one; knowing the competency of her kin it was highly likely to end in a colossal failure, and once they saw that then they wouldn't even deign to try again.
She'd heard Bell-kun ranting about the need for "Forward Operating Bases" for many years now, the young man espousing how important they would be for the future if they wanted to have any chance of defeating the Dungeon.
The Goddess knew what he was doing, and so far it appeared that the few, simple movements he's made will be quite impactful many years down the road.
However, sometimes she wished he would wake up from his lofty dreams of massive familia cooperation; he knew that familias were separate, opposing entities that fought with one another just as much as they fought against the Dungeon. If it were only mortals then they likely would have united and slain the Dungeon long ago, but the Divines had a habit of dragging mortals into their petty games. A unified Orario was only seen when courting threats from outside the city, and even then there was no shortage of backbiting and gnashing teeth.
The Goddess closed her door behind her, an enchanted silver key locking the door up tightly, and then she was off, striding down the halls of her familia offices and into the brilliant sunlight and smokey air of her smithing district. The paving stones clicked under her booted heels, and she was happy to see dozens of smiths leaving their forges for a few minutes to welcome home their former Captain and Rising Star. The scraping of reedy-sandal on stone caught her attention and she turned her lone visible eye towards her current Captain- Tsubaki Collebrand striding forward with a confident gait that barely concealed the nervous energy that bubbled beneath the surface; the woman didn't fret, but whenever Bell-kun was out doing dangerous things as Adventurers were wont to do there was an undeniable tension that her poor Child couldn't shake.
"Tsubaki-chan," Hephaestus smiled warmly as she interlaced her arm with the half-dwarf's own.
"Hephaestus-sama," The dark-skinned woman replied, her own grin growing more confident as they both walked towards the entrance of the compound; the half-dwarf gently squeezing her hand.
Truth be told this was a rather long expedition- if not one of the longest in recent memory; hadn't… Jorum-kun gone down for six weeks with the Skadi familia a decade back? Well, he'd gone down to maintain their weapons, so it wasn't as though he had been down there for the express purpose of training.
The Goddess shook her head and she felt her worries fall to the way-side the closer and closer they drew to the front gates. If anything, it looked to be quite the Hero's Homecoming- it wasn't just the smiths of the familia present, but members of the Miach familia were present, though that was to be expected when it was all but guaranteed that one of Miach's Children would be wedding Hephaestus' favored child once the boy felt ready; the last she talked to him he was waiting for his other two werewolf betrothed to come of age and then they would all be married together.
Speaking of werewolf betrothed, the Goddess easily caught sight of Khemi and Sooka, the black and brown-furred women stood out in the crowd because of their lithe forms and general cleanliness; granted, her Children were meant to be dirty, as a clean smith wasn't someone you could trust, but their clothing stood out as being particularly clean. She hadn't had much time to chat with them other than the few conversations she managed to stumble into during their visits to see their husband-to-be… but it didn't take an expert to see just how much the women glowed when they talked about her Child; he was going to be in good hands, to say nothing of dear Naaza-chan and her own Liliruca-chan.
Hephaestus looked at her Tsubaki-chan from out the corner of her eye and was amused to see the older woman worrying her lower lip with her teeth; to say that her Captain had all but latched onto Bell-kun when he had arrived would be an understatement, and it was plain as day to see that he had some sort of effect on her. For now it was the older sister worrying about her little brother, but as he continued to advance and mature into a man would those feelings remain the same?
"Maa, quite the turnout we have here," With the eyepatch obscuring her sight she had to turn her head to the right to look towards her right where a green-haired woman sidled up right next to Hephaestus. Green eyes crinkled in delight as her right hand pushed the brim of her cowboy hat up, the woman squirming in place- the ankle-length pleated brown skirt she wore swishing with every shimmy, "I'm so glad to see that everyone here is coming to see my dear Asfi-chan come home to her nee-chan!"
Ah, of course, why wouldn't Hermes' Captain, Lydia Forsythe, not be here? Hephaestus leaned forward to drag her eye down the long row of Adventurers that constituted the rest of Hermes' Children.
Spoiler: Lydia Forsythe - Hermes Familia Captain
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"Hello, Lydia-chan, I'm glad to see that you all are so… punctual to the return of Asfi-chan, my dear Vornir-kun, and my Bell-kun," The Goddess let her eye crinkle in such a fashion that let the bubbly, air-headed, and horribly perceptive Lydia know just whom the crowd of smiths were waiting to see return.
A bead of sweat rolled down the woman's cheek and she laughed nervously, the woman taking her hat off to fan her face, "Ah, hahaha, yes, of course, Hephaestus-sama!"
The Goddess shook her head as she relaxed and allowed her amusement to trickle back; truly, Lydia-chan and Hermes were two peas in a pod.
Poor Asfi-chan, she really must have so much work to do.
Tsubaki-chan chose to remain silent, her lone visible eye focused in front of them.
It took only a few minutes and soon a few hoots and hollers from the front captured everyone's attention, and in front of the large wrought iron gates of the Hephaestus smithing district the first wagon roll up, and with a small creak the gates were pulled open. Hephaestus squeezed Tsubaki's hand and with a small gesture they moved over to the porch of one of the smaller supply buildings, the pair taking the steps so that they could get a better view; tall the Goddess and her Captain were not.
It appeared that they were just in time as the first covered wagon pulled in, and at the reigns was her Child, Vornir, the old dwarf raising his voice and waggling his adamantium hammer hand at the 'fools' who were blocking the space because they were too busy celebrating. Her smiths, however, were an intelligent bunch, no matter what those nasty rumors said, and they parted to let a dozen wagons enter and circle around.
Each wagon was packed to the gills with drop items, and while she couldn't see them the fact that the tarps holding all of them in place were straining mightily.
"Alright, ye gits! Enough standing 'round and gawkin' like ye never seen us pull in a haul this big before! I'm gonna count to three, and if there is still anyone here still standing around wit' their thumbs up their asses then you're going to be helping us sort all of this loot out! So if ye don't want to help the boy count up his millions then get back to work!" Vornir bellowed over the crowd, "ONE! TWO! THREE!"
Surprisingly not a single one decided to head back to their forges, and instead they formed a "Human Chain" with big, shit eating grins on their faces; they stretched from the wagons all of the way to the two empty warehouses that the familia had begun using for inventorying all of their gains from the monthly Expeditions with the Miach familia.
"Heh, looks like the boy's somehow managed to get you lot into some form of shape then!" Vornir scrubbed at his bulbous nose with the back of his hand.
"Don't bust our ball, Vornir-sama! Much faster this way, innit!?" A voice cried out from the crowd, with another echoing the sentiment.
"Hey! I can return to mah forge if ye'd like, ya surly, smug bastard! See how much rest ya' get when ya' gotta count all this ye'self!"
"Alright, alright, alright! I get it already! Che, never thought I'd see the day that the lot of ya would ever line up to do actual work." The red-haired dwarf chuckled, "So, let's get wagons 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and wagons 10, 11, and 12 offloaded first! These fine gentlemen from Rivira were kind enough to loan us their horses and wagons, and they just finished their jobs, so let's not make them wait a moment longer to return home to their beds!"
There were a few more words bandied about between the men and women of her familia as they organized themselves, and soon enough Hephaestus found some rather large cores and drop items being pulled from the carts and passed down the chain to be stacked into the crates and shelves inside of the warehouses.
Hephaestus watched as the seventh wagon in the line pulled off further down the street, but considering it was driven by Asfi-chan she wasn't surprised. The Goddess let herself be pulled along by Tsubaki as they walked down the steps and strode towards the gathering of Hermes familia members.
"-ow, is this wagon all yours, Asfi-sama!?" A short, dark-skinned cheinthrope with floppy ears called out, the young teen squirming in place as her tail swished back and forth.
Spoiler: Lulune
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"Ah, yes, it is. These are the cores and drop items that I earned while I was… training with Bell Cranel-kun and Vornir-sama."
"Sasuga, Asfi-sama!" A large-eared man with short black hair and a sharp nose chuckled with his hands on his hips.
"Heh, just like our Asfi-sama. Really showing out!" One of the short Pallums laughed out, "Bet you really showed that white-haired brat who's boss! I mean, look at all of this stuff!"
Hephaestus felt her lip twitch in irritation as the Pallum's sister tried to calm him down, "A-ah, brother, please don't- Hephaestus-sama is standing right behind us!"
The Goddess of the Forge did feel some sense of satisfaction when the young Pallum flinched and then looked over his shoulder. She gave him a tiny little wave, and the boy blanched.
"Well, I certainly believe that I outperformed even my own wildest expectations, especially without relying on my equipment to see me through," Asfi leaned against the side of the wagon, her eyes looking down on the excited faces of all of her familia members, "However, you are wrong, Pock, for it was I who was shown 'who was boss' during my time in the Dungeon."
The young woman's eyes slipped towards the other eleven wagons, "While I earned the cores and drop items in this wagon over the past two months, Bell-kun he… he earned everything in those other wagons, on his own."
Hephaestus felt Tsubaki's grip on her arm tighten at the wistfulness in Asfi Al Andromeda's tone.
How cute!
"Speaking of my Bell-kun," Hephaestus decided to interrupt, her words dragging everyone's attention towards her. The few people that were savvy with the rigid posture and frail smile on Tsubaki's face all began to skooch to the left and right so that they weren't directly in between the half-dwarf and the young woman on the wagon who was just moments ago speaking about her little brother with such breathy words, "May I ask where he is?"
"He's over there, Hephaestus-sama," The pink-haired woman replied calmly as pointed back towards the wagons still circled around, "He is currently talking with the men whom he hired from Rivira."
"Thank you, Asfi-chan," The Goddess nodded and gave Asfi a warm smile before looking over the wagon, "Now, if I remember correctly this is one of ours, yes?"
"Yes, Hephaestus-sama, this is one of your wagons," Asfi adjusted her glasses, "I was just about to head over to the Guild to exchange my earnings and return this to you. It shouldn't take too long, but considering the volume of the cores and drop items, it may take a few hours for me to return. I hope that this won't be too much of an imposition?"
Hephaestus shook her head, "No, I don't think it will. However, it is just past noon now, so if you hurry you just might avoid the early evening rush."
"Thank you, again, Hephaestus-sama," Asfi bowed from her seat on the wagon, "Though I was speaking with Bell-kun and I was hoping that I would return here for the next week or so."
The Goddess and Tsubaki stopped their gradual steps away from the Hermes familia and she turned and looked back, "Oh?"
It was very cute to see how the young woman's cheeks speckled pink, but with a short cough into her fist, she regained her composure. "Yes, Bell-kun and I have several projects that we would like to work together on in the coming day. He seems convinced that he will get the Developmental Ability he desires upon his Rank Up, and while I know that many times you might not get the ability you wish, sometimes you can. If that is indeed the case then we came up with a few ideas for a joint project, and I would like to see them through."
"Mou! Asfi-chan! We have to go into the Dungeon and make some more money! D-U-N-G-E-O-N! Money! We can't work as well if you're not there!" Lydia interjected, the vivacious clone of Hermes pouting as she childishly stomped her foot against the paving stones beneath her boots.
"Then you will have to find a way to ensure that everyone gets time to properly train on your own, Lydia-sama," Asfi spoke cooly, the undercurrent of steel in her words undeniable, "I've spent the past two months in the Dungeon, and I feel like I've managed to make a considerable amount of valis that will pay for my tithes to the familia coffers. I would some time to rest and enjoy the sun."
"Yeesh! Who are you and what have you done with my cute, adorable Asfi-chan who lets me do everything I want while she does all of my work for me!?" The Hermes Captain wailed dramatically for a few seconds, the woman clutching her hat to her chest as she cried fake tears into the shoulder of the weretiger that, if Hephaestus was remembering correctly, Hermes had introduced as Falgar. After a few moments, the blubbering ceased and the woman let out a massive sigh, the cowboy hat once again finding the crown of her head, "Man, I can't believe it- you spend two months in the Dungeon and suddenly you grow a spine? Maa, what a pain. Well, I guess Hermes-sama and I will just have to figure something out!"
With that seemingly settled Tsubaki began guiding Hephaestus back toward the wagons, and the Goddess allowed it, if only because she was excited to see her Bell-kun as well.
As they drew closer to the wagons Hephaestus could hear Bell's undeniable voice; it was rare to hear a soft, boyish voice carrying such bearing.
"-ank you gentlemen for your hard work here."
"Heh, 's nothing really, kid. You paid for a job, we did the job. No thanks needed."
"Well then, as promised, the other half of your payment. 125,000 valis."
The clinking of coins could be heard, and Hephaestus felt Tsubaki slow down as they rounded the corner of the wagon, and they both stopped at the same time to drink in the sight.
His armor was rent with damage, the leathers torn open and sewn shut with leather cordage, and they had apparently run out because the gleaming silver of his mail shirt could be seen through other, much larger holes. His combat shirts -something that Bell-kun had prided himself on for being comfortable, lightweight, and rather durable given how thin they were- was torn to near shreds, the long sleeves of the chainmail revealed to the world. The damage to his Dungeon outfit was extensive, with his pants being in no better condition, which honestly did not bode well for Hephaestus when it came time to update his status.
Despite being a young man, Bell Winters was someone who cared a great deal about his appearance- his clothing was always fashionable, flattering to his form, well-tailored, and impeccably clean. She knew for a fact that he took multiple sets of his outfit with him on his little training expedition, and considering how her Child was… it was likely that this was his most presentable outfit.
In all of her days she had never seen Bell Winters looking this beat up before, but if you looked at the large, welcoming smile on his face you would never have known that he had been chewed up and spit out by the Dungeon.
It was obvious to her that Tsubaki felt the same because Hephaestus could feel the trembling in the woman's arms as she held herself back from wrapping the boy up in a big hug.
The young man was still in the middle of conducting a business transaction, and they both knew better than to interrupt and possibly embarrass him in front of his contracted employees- no matter how temporary they may be.
"So, if you'll just follow our lovely Joanna, yes, the woman in the brown dress waving at us right now. She'll take you over to the dining facility here if you're looking for a good meal before you head back down to Rivira." Bell placed his hands on his hips as he looked over at the assembled smiths that were helping quickly unload the wagons, "I'd give it maybe four hours to offload, unhitch your horses, give 'em some water, feed, and a good rub down before they're ready to go. If you want to take a hot bath just ask Joanna and she'll have Dumi escort you over to our bath house; you'll need to wash your clothes yourself though."
"Heh, meal and a hot bath? And we get paid? Why, Bell Winters, I think you just might be our favorite client." A raspy-voiced raccoon demi-human spoke up as he tossed his small bag of valis up into the air.
"Certainly, if you ever need something hauled like this again don't hesitate to ask Bors for Mongo."
Bell shook hands with the leader of the group, a surprisingly rough and tumble-looking male elf, and they walked after Joanna- though the men did have enough presence of mind and manners to offer her a shallow bow as they passed her and Tsubaki by. "Thank you for your patronage, Hephaestus-sama."
Once they were out of sight Tsubaki let go of Hephaestus' arm and crossed the distance between herself and Bell-kun in the blink of an eye. The boy smiled warmly as the dark-skinned dwarf wrapped around him like a squid. "Ah! My Bell-kichi is growing up so fast! It isn't fair! You should just remain small and cute forever!"
Hephaestus blinked and looked at the pair, and sure enough, Bell was indeed an inch taller than he had been when they last saw him; instead of her Captain's bandaged bust wrapping around his face it was only his chin that was being smothered.
The young man hugged her back and bore the noogie that she was giving him with dignity and grace, "Look at you! Just… just look at you! Already negotiating with third parties and stuff! Man, in just a few short years I might be able to take a nice, long vacation!"
"A-ah, please, Tsubaki-nee… don't go out just yet," He chuckled as he was finally released, the boy putting just a little space between them so that he could look up at Tsubaki with a gentle, earnest smile, "I'm… home, Tsubaki-nee. It's good to see you again."
Hephaestus' eye crinkled in amusement as she watched her Captain's brain cease functioning; she was surprisingly weak to attacks like that.
His gaze left Tsubaki and he managed to peel the half-dwarf's hands away so that he could walk in front of Hephaestus herself. The young man bowed deeply to her, "I have returned, Kami-sama."
Hephaestus smirked as she reached out and grabbed the top of his head so that she could pull him in for a gentle hug; he really was getting taller- growing like a weed. His head was on her shoulder now, and soon… he would be tall enough to see eye to eye. "I'm glad that you're back safely Bell-kun."
Her left arm wrapped around his shoulder while her gloved right hand came up and carded her fingers through his hair gently. "Truly, I am thankful that you're okay, though if I am being honest… I shudder to think about what you're about to subject me to during this status update. Almost seeing your death once was enough for me."
He winced and sighed, his arms wrapping around her waist and back to squeeze her firmly, "Unfortunately, Hephaestus-sama, near-death experiences and brutality are a part of our way of life… you would know that better than most."
"Indeed," She murmured, the Goddess holding onto him for just a little while longer before releasing him to his many, many betrothed.
"Bell-sama!" Came Liliruca's high-pitched cry, the little Pallum all but launching herself into his sternum the moment Hephaestus had made enough space.
"Liliruca, I'm glad to see you as well," He laughed softly, his fingers coming up to run through her short hair before he grasped onto the sides of her head and pulled her away from his chest just enough for him to lower his lips down to kiss her forehead.
The werewolves circled around from behind him, their arms snaking over his shoulders so that they could pull him close; the pair abusing their still present height advantage to press firm kisses to his cheeks while Naaza inserted herself into his side- the sleepy-eyed cheinthrope stuffing her nose into his neck.
"Ahn~, the poor boy doesn't have enough arms for all of the girls he's got," A reedy voice spoke softly behind Hephaestus, and she turned her head to see Naaza's mother, Mila Erisuis, standing there with a palm to her cheek, "Such a beautiful thing, young love. Right, Hephaestus-sama?"
"Ah, girls, please, we'll have plenty of time to hang out later on tonight- I've got to help get these wagons offloaded!"
"Yes, it truly is a thing of beauty," The Goddess smirked as she took a few deliberate steps back and stood shoulder to shoulder with the cheinthrope Child of Miach, "It truly is."
Hephaestus was going to have words with Vornir-kun.
It took all of her willpower to restrain the trembling arms as she finished assigning the excelia from Bell-kun's latest status update.
-the Bloodsaurus's esophagus was exceedingly nasty, and the muscles were incredibly strong as they did their best to crush his body and shove his corpse down into its stomach. It was tight, but Bell managed to lodge himself in the monster's throat, the boy pushing his sword down while he drew his Nosteel knife and started stabbing blindly as to where the dinosaur monster's core was behind him. He felt the core give way after his third stab, and the beast shattered into motes of light and ash, dropping him down onto his feet as he stared down two more Bloodsaurus-
This was a method of training that had been more prevalent in the familia when Vornir-kun had been but a wide-eyed young man looking up at the Zeus famila, and while the method was certainly efficient at getting the most out of an Adventurer's efforts there was a reason she didn't want to see the practice being brought back after so many years. Tsubaki's method was cutting it close, in Hephaestus' opinion, but the woman had never failed to prevent Bell-kun from experiencing serious harm.
-A cry escaped Bell's lungs as the Bloodsaurus managed to snatch him up in its jaws, the large, dagger-like teeth of the monster sinking past his leather and tearing into his chainmail with an unholy screech. Only the boy's Level 3 constitution- taken to its theoretical maximum thanks to his stats being maxed- saved him from having his lungs punctured. His hands came down and grasped onto a tooth that was right next to the ones spearing into his chest, and he wrenched with incredible strength- the tooth snapping free as the Bloodsaurus shook him around like a dog would a chew toy. With the tooth in his hands, he let out a roar of effort and speared the bone into the Bloodsaurus' face, and the beast let him go- the boy tumbling end over end until he impacted the hard earth nearly a hundred feet away.
With a groan of effort, Bell stood up, his back barely straight but no less defiant as he reached back and pulled his spare longsword from its sheath while he chanted his healing spell.-
Vornir-kun was not so gentle, or kind. However, her Child was experienced, and he knew better than anyone else just what Bell Winters could handle… and those few times where he was in over his head the former Captain had always been right there to bail him out.
"Your stats are completely maxed, Bell-kun," Hephaestus murmured as she finished tallying up the last bits of Low-Quality excelia. Her eye unfocused as she took in the totality of the High-Quality excelia that formed the pillars that supported the foundation of his next Level, and she was pleased to see that she had been correct in her assessment from the last time they'd done a Status Update; he was fully qualified for the Rank Up, and the High-Quality excelia he had accrued was just waiting for him to finalize the process.
He was already almost halfway to Level 5 just from the overflow of High-Quality Excelia alone, but for the most part, it would remain unused until Bell had satisfied his goal of 999-S in every stat was reached; so for now all that was needed was for his Low-Quality Excelia to catch up.
"Is that so? Well, I'm glad, truly," Bell chuckled happily as he sat there in the Update Chair in Hephaestus' office, "I honestly don't know how mad I would have been if I did all of that hard work and was a few points short- the grind for those last few points would have been… so fucking real."
The Goddess watched his snow-capped cranium shift from side to side, "So, Developmental Abilities?"
"Hmmmm… let me see here…." Hephaestus felt her lips curl up into a small, wry smile. Even though she could already see that he had his desired Developmental Ability, she felt that she could drag it out just a touch; he owed her this little amount of pleasure for putting her through all of his horrid training experiences. "Well, we have Fist Fighter… Metalworking… Magic Resistance…"
Bell squirmed cutely in the chair, his anxious energy causing his voice to crack, "And?"
" Swordsman… Ranger…"
"A-anndddd!???"
" Spirit Healing…"
" And-!? Wait, did you just say ' Spirit Healing'?" His anxiety was gone, replaced by a bit of surprise, "Doesn't Riveria Los Alf have that? If I remember correctly it grants continuous Mind Regeneration once a Spell or Ability that utilizes Mind is used… that's… actually pretty powerful-"
"And you indeed have Mystery," Hephaestus finished out with a laugh while the boy was ruminating, and his head turned to regard her with a gimlet eye.
"Don't play with my emotions like that, Kami-sama, I genuinely thought for a second there that I wasn't going to get it."
Hephaestus pinched his shoulder, causing him to flinch.
Telling her to not play with his emotions!?
The nerve of this Child!
Tsubaki let out some raucous laughter, the young woman smacking her thighs as she leaned back on the couch across from Bell, "Oh, please, Bell-kun, you're too much! 'I thought I wasn't going to get one of the rarest abilities in Orario- oh, and let me also jabber on about the other super rare ability that I also have access to'."
She wiped a non-existent tear from her eye as she settled down, a small smirk on her face, "You really are a riot, Bell-kichi."
Her words probably weren't meant to poke at Bell in the way they did, but there was no mistaking the tensing of his back as his ruby eyes gazed over at Tsubaki. The young man swallowed and the Goddess could see his jaw work. Though the physical tells were nothing compared to what she could see within his soul- while the falna was open like this she could see and feel everything he was feeling. The embarrassment, the guilt…
"I'm sorry, Tsubaki-nee, I didn't mean for it to come out like that," Bell winced, "I'm not trying to sound ungrateful for my good fortune here."
Like a switch had been flipped, Tsubaki sat ramrod straight in her seat and her lips opened up wide like a fish. Her lips curled and she shook her head, "No, no, no, Bell-kichi, that wasn't what I… not at all."
She stood up and Vornir-kun, being the responsible adult that he was, grasped onto her wrist and tugged her back down into her seat, "Sit down girlie, this ain't one of your melodrama books you be read'n; Bell-kun's a smart lad, he knows you didn't mean nothin' by it. So just relax and try not to run off again- that's how all of those misunderstandings happen so often in those books to begin with!"
Silence reigned for a few moments as Tsubaki's cheeks grew quite red as everyone stared at her, which was quite a feat since her dark skin usually allowed her to hide her embarrassment without much effort.
"Ah, Vornir-oji…" Bell broke the silence, his voice teasing, "You seem to know quite a bit about those books Tsubaki-nee's been reading. You an avid reader as well?"
The old dwarf sputtered, "I'll have you know that I stopped reading those rags almost a century ago! Ain't nothin' good come from fill'n kid's heads with unreasonable ideas about romance!"
It was pretty transparent, but it was enough to lower the temperature in the room and drop Tsubaki's embarrassment by a few notches.
Hephaestus squeezed Bell again, "So you still want Mystery over this Spirit Healing?"
Bell nodded, "Yes I do indeed, Hephaestus-sama. I need to purchase some more spell books from Lenoa-sama before I can reasonably take Spirit Healing; my Mind reserves are pretty massive, and my efficiency has been improving with each Rank Up. With the Mage DA making casting that much easier I hardly use a third of my Mind, even during extended engagements while using my full spell rotation multiple times. Taking it now… while it would be a great quality of life improvement not having to take as many Mind potions with me into the Dungeon, it would ultimately end up being a waste. The magical items I can craft with Mystery would be far more effective, even if I have to build my way up to making truly amazing things."
Hephaestus smiled at the pure conviction in the boy's tone, and a hum escaped her lips as she slotted the Mystery Developmental Ability into place and-
It was a strange feeling, but not an unwelcome one, if the Goddess was being honest. She felt her chest grow warm as the faintest trickle of her Divine magic was gently peeled away from her core, her self, and it wove into a gossamer-like braid before it slipped down her arms and through the hands that were placed gently on the boy's back. It was a marvel to watch, seeing that small braid of her power gently wrap around the connection that already existed between herself and her Child- it started from her end before looping around and around, like a rope being coiled around another rope, and once it was finished it stitched itself to Bell's soul… anchoring that additional power to his falna.
She bit her lip lightly as she slid the falna back into the tattoo on his back, the Goddess carefully folding the protections back into place. With the falna closed, she grabbed a sheet of parchment and copied his status onto the page before handing it to him from over his shoulder. "It is done, Bell-kun."
Was this what the Ability description meant? It had tied a greater portion of her Divinity to his falna… and she had an idea as to just how this power would be used. Could be used. The… possibilities seemed endless. She wondered if their newfound connection would continue to strengthen as Mystery gained Ranks?
Hephaestus had never had the pleasure of having a Mystery holder within her familia- in her three centuries on Gekai not a single one of her Children had ever had the ability unlock, and now… she could feel her connection to Bell Winters stronger than ever.
It was humbling, comforting… and intimate in a way that the standard falna connection never could be.
She idly wondered as her Child slipped off of the chair and pulled his shirt back on if Hermes' connection with Asif was the same.
Bell grinned as he began buttoning his shirt up, the boy pulling the suspenders on his pants up onto his shoulders before a light brown leather jacket was slipped on. He looked at the page closely before handing it back to Hephaestus; she would see if get placed within his Status Update binder.
"Well, this has been absolutely amazing, but the girls want to eat out at the Hostess this evening, and if I don't get out there soon Sooka will be liable to gnaw Khemi's ears off," Hephaestus smiled as the boy stepped in and she enveloped him in a hug before he walked around and gave Tsubaki and Vornir hugs as well.
"Is there anything else, Kami-sama?" Bell spoke out as he paused at the door, and the Goddess shook her head.
"No, not at all, Bell-kun. Go on, enjoy your date night."
A wry smirk found its way onto his lips as he looked down at the floor, "When I was a boy I honestly didn't think I would ever have enough time for everything… smithing, magic, Dungeon diving, training… it felt like I would never have enough time in the day for something like a 'date night'. Heh, look at me go."
The door clicked shut behind him, and Hephaestus sighed as she walked over to the couch across from Vornir and Tsubaki and she collapsed onto the cushion- her arm coming up to rest over her eyes as she let herself layout with her boots hanging off the armrest.
It remained silent for a few moments, the only sounds being heard were the two Adventurer's steady breathing and the ticking of the large clock hanging off of her wall.
She slid her arm up just enough to reveal her eye to them.
When Hephaestus opened up her mouth to speak she was interrupted.
"I'm going."
The red-haired Goddess shifted her head, "Going… where?"
"I'm going into the Dungeon. On a training trip like Bell." The half-dwarf's lips curled back into a wordless, soundless snarl, "I'm falling behind."
"Tsubaki-chan-"
"Now girle, listen here-"
"He's stronger than me!" The dark-skinned woman's voice rose up to a near shout. "He was almost as strong as me before he had his Rank Up. I could… I could feel it. With his stats maxed out as they are I could feel it, I could feel the power roiling just below the surface."
She paused and when no one interrupted her she let out a shaky breath and continued, "If he was almost as strong as I am now, then he has surely overtaken me with his Level 4."
Tsubaki's hands became fists as they clenched her hakama pants, the reeds of her sandals scritching against the wood beneath her feet. Her shoulder shook as her lone visible eye stared down into her lap.
Hephaestus breathed in deeply before she sat up and reached over the knee-high table between them to grasp Tsubaki's hands. "Tsubaki-chan…"
The half-dwarf gave her hands a gentle squeeze, but she pulled away, her hands going up to her face, "I'm supposed to be his big sister, you know? I'm supposed to be the one he relies on. I'm supposed to be… cool… you know?"
She sniffed and Hephaestus felt her eyebrow rise as the young woman's fingers danced around the edges of the eyepatch, and then- in a move that surprised even the Goddess herself- Tsubaki pulled the eyepatch away and revealed what lay underneath it.
The flesh of her eyelid was unblemished, and lashes fluttered open to show the warm, brown eye that the girl had kept hidden away for the past twenty years.
The patch was rubbed between her fingers as a pair of tears slipped free and trailed down her cheeks. "I… I put this eyepatch on because I wanted to be cool. Cool like my oji-chan. Cool like my Goddess. Because… because eyepatches were cool, and to hell what anyone else said about them."
The half-dwarf sucked up some mucus that was threatening to spill down her nose as her tears kept flowing. "How am I supposed to be the cool, strong, reliable onee-san when the boy I want to protect doesn't need me to protect him anymore?"
"Haaaaa," Vornir reached over with his flesh and blood hand and gently grasped at the back of the girl's neck, his thick fingers gently kneading the corded muscles while his adamantium hammer hand scrubbed at the side of his head, "You know that boy loves you, right, girlie? No matter what he'd never lose his awe, admiration, or respect for you just because he's stronger than you now."
A petulant pout formed on her lips, and she puffed out her cheeks just a touch, "That's not the point, oji-chan. The point is that if I don't put my nose to the grindstone then I'm going to lose respect for myself; I could never look at myself in the mirror if my cute, huggable, cuddly Bell-kichi had to carry me away from the battlefield like some hapless maiden! That just ain't cool!"
Her fire cooled down to a simmer as she leaned to the side and rested her head against Vornir's wide chest, "Help me, oji-chan. Just like you did for Bell-kichi. I'm going to need to put everything on the line in order to retake my position."
"You know," Hephaestus murmured, "You could have avoided a lot of this mess you're feeling right now if you'd taken your Status Updates more regularly."
Tsubaki shook her head, "Nope. No. No. Not a chance. I know that I've gone two years without one, but if there is one thing that's stood out to me is that Bell-kichi's method works. Sure, I'm still a 0-I Level 5, but that just means that I've got a great deal of room to grow; if anything once I'm back from my trip… maybe I'll get lucky and my stats will be maxed, just like his were."
"Girlie, I just got back from a two-month stay in the Dungeon…" Vornir rumbled softly, "And now you want me to go back in? Spotting for you will be a great deal harder than spotting for Bell-kun; the monsters we'll be fighting will also take more than just the two of us… we're going to need a proper team if we're going to do this correctly."
" Please, oji-chan."
Hephaestus dragged her eye away from Tsubaki's puppy-dog eyes and up to Vornir's. The man's lips curled up and he let out an aggravated sigh. "Fine, fine, fine. Damnit, I could never say no to you kids, least of all you, Tsubaki-chan."
The half-dwarf's face lit up and she stood up, "Really?"
Hephaestus felt her heart clench as memories of years past floated to the top of her mind; the sights and sounds of a ten-year-old apprentice-smith not yet old enough to receive her falna hopping up and down, tugging on Vornir's overalls with the earnest wish for him to come and see the small pocket knife she forged all by herself.
"Yes, really," The dwarf grunted, "We're going to need other Level 5s… Gareth from the Loki familia owes me a favor. He can probably drag Braver and Nine Hells along for the ride… the Gulliver Brothers are borderline for Level 5 and since I made their arms and armor for them they might be amenable to joining up."
His face twisted, "Though they might get into conflict with the Braver; last I spoke to them they view him as a rival. Shit…"
"Why not ask Silver Streak from the Skadi familia? She's a Level 5, and I'm sure her Captain wouldn't be opposed to letting her go for a few months," Hephaestus leaned back in her chair and ran a gloved finger along her plump bottom lip, "Our relationship has been tighter since Bell-kun's betrothed joined them years ago; dare I say that I might be able to get them to sign on board for an inter-familia training trip."
Though, truth be told this was going to be a tall order. Only the Hera and Zeus familias were so close as to do things like this- to propose a small-scale joint venture between three of the top familias in Orario? They were all Top Five, and while Hephaestus wasn't as close to Freya as Loki was, Hephaestus was closer to Skadi now than either of them- but considering Gareth was Vornir's cousin the blood ties would be more than strong enough to secure the Loki familia for this venture; Loki's Golden Trio were always lock-step with one another, and where one went you could be sure that the other two would follow.
"There would be a lot of moving parts and pieces for this, but I think that if we use Bell-kun's newly made connections with the boys from Rivira then we just might be able to make it work," Vornir rubbed at his eyebrow, "Most of the Adventurers in Rivira are Level 2s and 3s, and since we'll be passing through all of the lower-middle floors to get to our training grounds on the 50th floor then… if we offered them some coin to handle the wagons and some training time in the areas that they normally wouldn't be able to handle… we just might be able to make this work."
"Good." Tsubaki smiled. It was a small thing, but one filled with relief; Hephaestus wouldn't tell her this, but this was the Tsubaki Collebrand that she remembered seeing as a little girl.
It was a comfort to know that she still existed under all of those layers of "cool".
Special thanks to Lmc9389, Artillery, AuraofCalm, Mioismoe, D. Wongsonegoro, Darkarma, Acrimonius, T. Balewood, Randall Randall, Dominyx Black, CyberCrisis, Blue, Russ Stilter, Legion_13, Mike Fatal_Bullet, P. Nguyen, J. Ricardo Passos, K. Weierbach, R. Alderman, A P, Arrorn, PbookR, Mortaegus, Nevets309, and Jake95044 for being Patrons!
You guys rock!
A/N: So next chapter we'll be able to see the fruits of Bell's Labor! I just wanted to have this nice little interlude where we get to see Tsubaki showing off her cute side while desiring to maintain her cool side. lol
Mini-Chapter: Messing Around with Mystery
A/N: This contains some of Bell's explorations with the Mystery DA. Upon finishing up this section I felt like it would honestly just bloat up the next chapter of what I was going to write, so I decided to keep it separate. This just delves into the Mystery DA and how it works, and ultimately, if you aren't interested in the nitty-gritty details this small chapter can be skipped and you wouldn't really lose out on much.
[One Week Later]
[Bell Winters]
Now, this was exciting!
Asfi and I had spent the past two days working on a little joint project at my request- considering the fact that I gave her dozens of ideas that required little effort on her end that gave her a lot of opportunities to make lucrative items that would help elevate her name I quickly realized that it would be a long while before I could create the enchantments that I oh so desperately wanted to create.
Just as Asfi had described to me when we were down in the Dungeon training, the Mystery ability was incredibly intuitive in that… it sort of provided for me a framework for what I could expect in terms of Mind cost and how long it would take to create the enchantment based on what you could picture in your mind. With some basic math, I came up with a simple formula that calculated the efficiency of my proposed enchantments.
[Time (in minutes to enchant) / Mind (in units of Mind used to enchant)] x 100% = Enchantment efficiency.
Now, I had to sit down and create a number of categories based on the different enchantment types and after some meditation on the ideas floating around in my head I was able to establish a baseline effectiveness and could move forward from there. It was sort of like a mental magical spreadsheet combined with a set of "dev tools" that allowed me a general idea as to how much more effective my proposed enchantment was going to be, all the while giving me a Time and Mind requirement that I could then apply the formula to so that I could see which would be most beneficial as part of a cost/benefit analysis.
Mystery, as a whole, was an incredibly potent Developmental Ability, one that when taken to its most illogical extremes, could make enchantments that did absolutely astounding things.
Could I enchant a two-ton stone block to levitate in the air with an enchantment that drew in ambient mana from the air to power itself? Yes, yes I could, though at my current Rank of I it would be incredibly wasteful for me to do so based on the amount of Time and Mind I would have to sink into willing such an enchantment into reality. Though upon speaking to Asfi about this she assured me that Mystery, like all DAs, improved over time, cutting the amount of Time and Mind required to perform enchantments by leaps and bounds; the bottomless lipstick that she creates as part of her evening routine once cost her almost every drop of Mind she had in addition to taking three hours to enchant.
Now? She could enchant it in ten minutes with only a fraction of the Mind use.
She also theorized that since I have both Mage and extensive practice in controlling my Mind flows that such costs should be substantially lower for me than they had been with her when she first started.
The day after I first got Mystery I spent the morning enchanting four dozen sticks of chalk, colored wax sticks, and thick charcoal pencils that were used in the forges; while the expenses we paid on such things were negligible, it was more a test of myself than anything else. Asfi used a little bit of low steel and created a small thin metal casing around them with the words "Bottomless X" written on them; she had spoken to me about her Metalworking DA in passing, but seeing her manipulate a piece of low steel bar stock, rolling it flatter than a puff pastry, and then cutting it with a simple knife and wrapping it around the items was something else entirely.
She even used a fragile stick to etch the words into the steel just to showcase how much control over the metal the DA gave her.
After that? We started to make sweet, beautiful science, with the primary test of this was to see if two Mystery DAs could work together to lighten the load when it came to making a single enchantment.
We first tested with her lucrative compact mirror- it took her twenty minutes to enchant and roughly 1/10th of her Mind pool to enchant it. Working together we were able to cut down the amount of time it took from twenty minutes down to ten minutes, but there wasn't a reasonable difference in overall Mind cost- it took 1/20th of her Mind pool and roughly 1/50th of mine.
We did this three more times, and while we were getting what appeared to be consistent results… we didn't have anything capable of measuring Mind pool totals and… with that we set about our next project.
A device that could measure Mind.
Of course, there were powerful mages that could feel a person's mind and give a rough estimate as to how much they currently had and what their potential could be, they couldn't quite be exact. I wanted exact.
Ultimately the device was pretty simple- it was a small rectangular block of mithril attached to a low-steel disc with an arrow attached to a pin that was connected to a wound spring that provided resistance. On the disc were one thousand short lines etched into the surface, with long lines every ten dashes, and even longer lines with numbers every one hundred dashes. It took quite a while to plot everything out to where the lines were nice and even, but thanks to Metalworking's utility if we made a mistake (which we made many) it was easy enough for Asfi to just rub the line out and re-etch it.
The overall enchantment concept was straightforward- estimate the amount of Mind a person has at rest and display it on the dial when someone grabs onto the block of mithril.
The dial itself was taped out to measure up to one thousand units of measurement for Mind, and if someone had more than one thousand units of mind then it could be wound past that it three times for a total measurement capacity of four thousand units of Mind. The spring was the limiting factor here, and it could only unwind so much- roughly four and a half rotations- but be settled on three additional rotations of the needle to keep in mind wear and tear as well as accuracy; if we needed a bigger measuring tool then we would make a bigger measuring tool.
With the two of us working together with a solid idea of what we wanted to make with our enchantment it took about four hours for us to complete.
Even though we finished it we wanted to be completely fresh for when we tested it, so we finished out the day tooling around with some other ideas that we wanted to try out.
The next day we tested the device for the first time and we found out that I had roughly 500 units of Mind while Asfi herself only had 50 units; considering she wasn't a Mage of any sort and her only Mind use was when she was enchanting it made sense that her Magic stat didn't grow that much when compared to someone else who used large amounts of magic on a frequent basis and had the Mage DA. She was a bit angry at that, more at herself for not attempting to branch out, but what it did do was provide for her a frame of reference as to how she could improve; I suggested she pick up a few spellbooks from Lenoa as well as a decent staff and practice with some healing spells- never knew when being able to heal someone when you were low on potions could come in handy.
With the Mind measuring device completed it opened up a whole lot of doors for me in regards to my tests, specifically on how much Mind a particular enchantment cost to create- the Developmental Ability itself, once again, gave me a rough estimate, but that was only good for measuring which was best at a glance. With the "MMD" (patent pending) I could now see exactly how much Mind I used when I created an enchantment or cast a spell… and something equally as important I could see just what effects a Mind potion had on the body when consumed and could finally calculate just what my Mind Recovery Rate was.
Some cursory testing showed that I recovered roughly 10% of my Mind per hour, and that Mind potions offered an immediate infusion of Mind while increasing the Mind Recovery Rate; with the Mind potions, I purchased from Miach's familia I regained roughly 17% of my total Mind while my recovery rate doubled for the next hour. Seeing this it explained why most people thought that Mind potions topped them up to full after consuming them- for anyone other than a trained Mage the 85 units of Mind recovered would make their small pool feel overly full; it was enough to completely cap Asfi's Mind pool, and she was someone that exercised her Magic stat far more than the vast majority of Adventurers (and far less than the average Mage).
With all of that out of the way, I pulled out my notebook and began looking at some of the more basic but possibly infinitely scaling enchantments.
I started with the enchantment that would imbue a weapon, in this case, a standard Winters-pattern longsword, with the improved ability to "Cut".
Yes, yes, I know, it's a trope, but it is a simple concept that can ultimately scale really, really, really high up there. It's a tried and true isekai/magic trope for a reason, yanno? However, in order for me to begin taping out my potential advances in the great field of "Cutting" enchantments I needed to first define for the Mystery enchantment what I meant by "cutting".
Cut: to break the surface of something, or to divide or make something smaller, using a sharp tool.
In this case, the bladed edge of a longsword.
As with the "endless" enchantments for the chalk sticks the Mystery DA offered me many different options as to how the effects I desired could be created in a fashion that, in my mind, resembled a web diagram; it listed the effects in terminology that I could understand, the amount of meditation it would take for me to create the enchantment in time, and the number of units in Mind it would cost to fuel the enchantment (and if there would be any Mind costs associated with utilizing the enchantment if it required activation).
Surprisingly enough it also seemed to take into account my own knowledge of science and created enchantments based on some of the principles I knew of- for example, instead of creating an enchantment that could "cut" almost any known material, I could create an enchantment that would create a permanent, self-repairing monomolecular edge. Or, I could create an enchantment that, when activated, acted like a vibroblade from any number of sci-fi franchises; it appeared that I didn't have to have exact knowledge of how it worked, but by providing a framework for how the effect could work made it that much easier for the Mystery DA to whip the magic into something that mimicked it.
I had a great amount of fun enchanting my first "bottomless" bag, utilizing some knowledge I had from Youtube videos and a couple of Wikipedia articles on space-folding and higher dimensions. After some prodding Asfi relented and told me that she envisioned her bag having a hole on the interior of it where the items she placed inside floated around, waiting until she could grab them; the issue she had was that if the bag was damaged then the items inside of this pocket space would disappear, whereas with mine they just spilled all over the ground.
I solved that particular problem when I created my brand new Dungeon Pak (TM). My new pack had a Light Metal frame that I Insert forged with a Minotaur horn, had a cushioned strap that supported my lower back and made it more comfortable to wear, the shoulder straps, the sternum strap, and attached to the frame was a large sack fashioned from a thick tan canvas that I Infused with Under Coral; it made it very stiff, but I'll be damned if it wouldn't protect the large bottomless bag that would sit within it! This covering practically qualified as armor all on its own, and I estimated that it would take a piercing attack from a Level 4 monster to puncture it.
Now, for argument's sake, let's say that the outer cover did get punctured… would all of the contents be released through the hole made? Would the immense durability of the cover be able to keep the items contained? Or would it simply explode?
Given that my very best bag only had five times the internal volume of a three-day assault pack, which was about 120L of internal space, I had a feeling that the canvas cover would be able to contain that much, though there was the distinct possibility that the compression would likely crack monster cores, which were… at the very least small hand grenades. So, ultimately it would still likely lead to an explosion- a particularly spectacular explosion with all of those cores compressed into a much smaller space.
Still, I made my pack with the thought that I would keep it small, maneuverable, and durable- if I enchanted a bog standard Supporter pack, which was just silly big, then I could likely fit an entire wagon's load of cores and drop items into it. However, that would be for my future supporters to handle.
My mind was conjuring up images of wagons loaded with ten of my supporter packs if they were stacked properly, leading to a single horse and wagon being able to carry ten times the total cargo capacity!
As long as it was actually small enough to fit within the pack itself, of course.
Regardless, I'm getting off track- with some knowledge of science and more advanced concepts the Mystery ability was able to more or less 'fudge the numbers' to make it work. I could go as low as to make a standard, Low-Steel sword cut wood as easily as it could paper, or make a High-Steel sword cut Low-Steel bar stock as easily as it could paper. I could even amp up the enchantment to where I could apply a self-repairing monomolecular edge to a weapon made of Mithril.
Ultimately, the enchantment could be as physical or as metaphysical as you wanted it, and the deeper you went into the concept the more the Time and Mind requirements grew- sometimes exponentially, even. However, from what I could tell there really wasn't much of a hard limit… and I wondered if I could do something crazy like forge an Orichalcum weapon and enchant it to do something insanely meta like "cut through dimensions" or "space" or even "time" itself!
The Mystery DA didn't give me a definitive "NO" , but instead it sort of nudged me to let me know that my DA wasn't nearly a high enough Rank to even think about applying such an enchantment.
Best case scenario, I would be limited to what a God could accomplish if the full might of their authority was unlocked, which included things like moving through dimensions (they had to get down to Gekai somehow, right?), but even then I highly doubted that the connection the Mystery DA made between myself and my Goddess was robust enough to handle such… world breaking possibilities.
The sky appeared to be the limit with enchantments, but after fooling around with that I decided to double-check Asfi's assertation that utilizing drop items with like effects made the enchantment much faster and cheaper in terms of Mind use; not that I didn't believe her, but the old adage of "Trust but Verify" was something that I lived by in this world.
I tested this by pounding out two simple chest pieces of Low-Steel, and I enchanted one to be more durable and self-repairing to a certain extent (such as removing scratches and fixing minor dents) using only the Mystery ability, and then I grabbed a Killer Ant Chitin- an oblong egg of amber-like material that was almost jade in its coloration- and held it to the second chest piece while applying the same enchantment. It roughly cut my time and Mind usage in half, but the Chitin itself was about seventy-five percent smaller; thanks to the drawn-out nature of the enchantment process if you were using a remnant of a drop item then you had more than enough time to grab another piece and continue the process.
The results when using the drop item were also a fair amount stronger- there was significantly more resistance when piercing that particular chest piece versus the one that wasn't Imbued with the Killer Ant Chitin.
This little test drew me to my current and final project with Asfi- could we fashion a more powerful, more efficient Imbuing device?
The current method for imbuing was just to fill a steel tank with distilled water, tossed in the weapon or armor piece to be imbued, connect it with a Mithril cable to the drop item that was to be used, and then connect those cables to a box that contained a monster core that served as the magical battery to transfer the properties of the drop item onto the receiving item. It was a simple process that required little effort to utilize, but it did require that a smith be on standby to utilize their Blacksmith DA from time to time.
With Mystery spinning in the back of my mind I was able to come up with a multiple enchantments that would do a great deal to make this process speedier and more efficient. It started with the tanks themselves- Low Steel was used simply because it was cheapest and because it had a low magical conductivity rate which meant that it would absorb less of the magic suspended in the distilled water which meant that more of the properties of the drop item used would find its way into the item being Imbued. A two-part enchantment that made the interior of the tank hydrophobic and prevented it from absorbing magic entirely would keep the concentration of magical particles much higher as the tank would no longer absorb it over time. The second enchantment was on the box and cables that contained the drop item and linked it to the item to be imbued, making it so that it broke down the drop item used in the imbuing process more efficiently.
Now, this might have just been me, but I fashioned a simple hollow pipe that I enchanted to circulate the water just a little bit better within the tank; the water was moved into the pipe and out the other side with a pretty smooth flow rate, making sure that the magical particles didn't end up settling down to the very bottom. I didn't know if that could even happen considering, you know, magical particles… I figured that it wouldn't hurt to at least try it out. We'd run a few batches through the process both with and without the water circulator and conduct some tests just to see; it might help or it might even make the results worse.
It was simple to make the tank as Asfi was able to take some Low Steel ingots and flatten it out to a uniform thickness, and once that was finished we picked up the floppy sheet of steel and placed it over a one-meter wide, three-meter long, one-meter deep box jig that we fashioned out of a few pieces of long bar stock. It was like working with thin paper mache that didn't tear with the slightest movements, making it easy to push the sheet down into the jig to fashion a very nicely made steel tub. After that, we fashioned some racks that could be placed into the tub for everything from short and long swords to even full-sized spears; with this modified process I felt like we could imbue multiple items at a time versus the only a single piece, which would save us a lot of time when handling larger orders.
After looking at the other monster core boxes we realized that there was some room to play around with them, so when we fashioned our new box we placed upon it an enchantment that would improve the transference capabilities of the process as long as the monster core and drop item came from the same monster- we couldn't say how much, as the Mystery DA only said the results would be better if there was a magical resonance between the drop item and the core being used to fuel the process, but when it came to making better equipment something simple such as "bring your drop item along with the core of the monster that it came from for the best possible product" was hardly that much of an inconvenience for most Adventurers.
With the new tank created we moved it into the Imbuing warehouse and placed it next to one of the dozen tanks we already had within.
All that was left was to go into the Dungeon and gather a few cores and drop items and test it out!
We went down into the Dungeon, blowing through the 5th and 6th floors to gather a handful of War Shadow claws and the corresponding monster cores, and then went down to the 7th Floor for some Killer Ant Chitin and their corresponding cores. Despite our utterly superior capabilities, the pair of us separated and hunted down every single War Shadow and Killer Ant we could find, but due to the poor drop rates we were down there for hours until we had enough to conduct the tests that I wanted; even then, it would be a small enough sample size that the results would be anecdotal at best.
Once we returned we place the hafts for a half-dozen spears inside the tank along with two Chitins, placed the two monster cores from the Killer Ants into the box, and began the process. Three hours later when the spear hafts were finished we placed the spearheads into the tank after flushing the water out and replacing it, put the War Shadow claws inside the tank with their cores into the box and started the process again. Being the uber-smart thinking person that I am, I didn't think to run the normal imbuing process in the tank next to us for the spear hafts and spearheads until almost halfway through the imbuing process for our "improved" group. I corrected that deficiency as soon as I noticed and it ended up saving us a few hours on the back end.
Once everything was said and done, with the new and improved process we were able to successfully imbue six spear hafts with only two Killer Ant Chitins versus the six we would have used normally, and the spearheads only required three War Shadow Claws when the old process also would have required six. We ended up using the same amount less in monster cores, which was very nice as well- it was only a few thousand saved in core costs, but we saved 40,000 valis using fewer Chitins and 27,000 valis with fewer Claws used.
Depending on how we wanted to play this we could split the costs savings among the products and lower our imbued weapon prices by a considerable margin, or we could improve our profit margins. The third option was the split the difference between the two, lowering the costs a bit while improving our profits. If Hephaestus asked me for my opinion I would vote for option 3- we could make an additional 10,000 valis for every imbued weapon we sold while still chopping anywhere from 7,000 to 10,000 of the price depending on what we were selling; it would give our customers a compelling reason to purchase from us again while not lowering the prices so much that the other smithing familias would have reason to complain.
"Reducing inefficiencies within our manufacturing process while improving the quality of our products to save both us and the customer valis" would be a simple enough reason to deflect and not answer any questions as to how we managed to do so. Eventually, we could open up, probably a few decades down the road, as to how we accomplished a more potent, more efficient imbuing process, but by that time we'll have reaped the benefits of once again having cornered the market by offering a stronger, cheaper product than our competitors.
The final test of this was to take our freshly made spears and take them to a trustworthy 3rd party and have them break them.
In this case, said 3rd party was Tsubaki- the woman was more than experienced in making and using all sorts of weapons, and what made her famous is that whenever she forged a weapon for a client she took it down into the Dungeon and tested it herself before finishing up the sale; if it didn't meet her expectations then she tossed it into the scrap heap to be recycled for its materials and started over again.
It was a wonder to watch her use the spears, making sweeping strikes meant to knock close opponents away, and then taking a step back only to bring the weapon forward with a piercing thrust. She performed a routine with each weapon, with every swing, strike, cut, and thrust being exactly the same to keep things consistent.
Once she was finished she twirled the weapon in her hand and sat the butt of the spear on the ground, "Yep, this is a spear alright. A pretty good one, but about what I would expect."
She scratched her chin as she looked them over, "Julius made the spearheads, I'd recognize this strike pattern anywhere, and Ophelia was the one who fashioned the hafts?"
I nodded, "Yes, you are exactly right, Tsubaki-nee. Thanks for that, but the test still isn't quite yet completed- I need you to break them, both the hafts and the spearheads if you would please."
Her head came back as she peered up at the spearhead, "You… want me to break these?"
"Yup, just be careful about it- regulate your strength and tell me which of these spears, haft and spearhead, were more difficult to break." I looked over to the small strips of cloth we had tied onto the bases of each spear with a number written on it with a grease pencil. The spears had been marked and then shuffled around- out of the dozen the even-numbered spears were the normal process while the odd-numbered spears were the new process.
Thankfully Tsubaki didn't need any more prompting, and she went through the process of breaking the hafts in two, and as she worked she dumped the broken hafts and spearheads into two separate piles. Once she was finished she pointed down at the piles, "The pile on my left here were easier to break, both the spear's haft and the spearhead itself. The pile on the right were stronger, but still easy to break for me."
"If you had to guess as to how much more strength you needed to use to break the spears on your right?" I asked, my notebook in my hand and charcoal pencil tapping away at my bottom lip.
"Eeeeehhhhhh….. just under half again as much?" The half-dwarf spoke slowly as she waggled her hand from side to side.
I grinned slightly as I wrote down her words and snapped my book shut before fixing Asfi who stood to my right with a look, "Well, I guess that answers that question!"
"Yes, it does indeed. Quite a noticeable improvement considering the large drop in required materials," The young woman adjusted her glasses as she spoke, "Quite the satisfying result for the end of our little week of collaboration."
For some reason, Tsubaki seemed to perk up quite a bit upon hearing those words. "Oh? What exactly did you two work on today that got you these results?"
I grinned and grabbed the sack that I'd had laying at my feet and moved over to collect the broken hafts and spearheads- the hafts I would cut off the broken ends and refashion them into hafts for some straight-handled wood axes, and the spearheads would be melted down into Shadowsteel ingots that I would make into shortsword and a longsword; no point in letting anything here go to waste! "Go grab Hephaestus-sama and meet us in the Imbuing warehouse and we'll walk you through everything!"
Special thanks to Lmc9389, Artillery, AuraofCalm, Mioismoe, D. Wongsonegoro, Darkarma, Acrimonius, T. Balewood, Randall Randall, Dominyx Black, CyberCrisis, Blue, Russ Stilter, Legion_13, Mike Fatal_Bullet, P. Nguyen, J. Ricardo Passos, K. Weierbach, R. Alderman, A P, Arrorn, PbookR, Mortaegus, Nevets309, and Jake95044 for being Patrons!
You guys rock!
A/N: *EDIT* This chapter also had a lot of "telling" versus the "showing" I prefer to have, but writing out a more detailed dive into the enchantment process and testing of everything would have been pretty boring for me to write and would have probably doubled or even tripled the length of this chapter. Far too much for a non-CF story such as this. LOL
Chapter 9 - Hard Work
[Bell Winters]
"Congratulations, Liliruca," I say with a smile as I bend over to plant a kiss on her forehead. The Pallum girl was leaning forward with her chest pressed against the pad of the Status Update chair within our Goddess' office, "Level 2? That's a huge moment for you, my dear."
"B-Bell…" She stuttered slightly as a bright red blush tinged her cheeks, "T-thank you, it's all thanks to you, though."
Ah, after two and a half years… Liliruca is no longer calling me 'Bell-sama'.
Honestly, it took far too many reminders, especially now that we've all but sealed the engagement- the girl was a year older than me, and honestly, she was much like my other betrothed… they all just couldn't wait until I turned 15. It honestly made me chuckle at how eager they were, my girls, but I really couldn't blame them- at this point in time, I was fully starting to come into my own, with my hormones starting to rage harder and harder every day. If it wasn't for my iron will I probably would have broken down the moment I started tenting my boxers.
I should probably start taking the edge off…
"You have the choices of Mixing , Blacksmith , Abnormal Resist , and Metalworking as your choices for Developmental Abilities, Liliruca-chan," Hephaestus spoke, dragging both of our attentions toward her, "You also have a new skill."
"Liliruca has… a Unique Skill too!?" The incredulity was evident in her tone, but it wasn't as though she was calling our Goddess a liar. Now if only I could get her to stop referring to herself in the third person… she's making progress but sometimes she slips in and out, so… baby steps.
"Indeed, it's called 'Pallum Spirit' - it improves all of your basic abilities as well as the potency of your spells and other Skills," Hephaestus murmured as her eye tracked across the Skill's description, "Quite a powerful one, to be sure. You should be proud of yourself, Liliruca-chan, not many Adventurers make it to Level 2, let alone most Pallums. So, your choice for your Developmental Ability? I don't know if you wish to remain a blacksmith-"
"Blacksmith!" Liliruca spoke out quickly, "I wish to stay a blacksmith. It… isn't exactly where I ever thought I would be, but the familia has been kinder to me than I ever could have imagined. I didn't think it was possible to be so… so happy. The forge is hot, and I always end up smelling like a fire, or steel, or sweat, but… I feel like this is a place where I can belong. So, if it's all the same to you, Hephaestus-sama, I would like to stay."
Our Goddess bit her lower lip and a gloved hand reached up to card her fingers through my betrothed's chestnut-colored hair, "You do realize that if you wanted to go to Miach-dono's familia and learn about potions then I wouldn't force you to stay, right? I want all of my Children to reach their highest potential, and if that is working with Naaza-chan and Miach-dono then I wouldn't be affronted."
Hephaestus' lone eye met my gaze as she continued, "I don't think that Bell-kun would think any less of your either."
I shook my head, "Most certainly not, you should go wherever your gut takes you, Liliruca. No need to stick around the forges on my account if it bothers you."
The Pallum snorted as her hands reached out and grabbed onto my own, tears pricking in the corners of her eyes, "Don't say such a thing, Bell. I'm here because I wish to be, and not for any other reason. So don't think you can get rid of me that easily."
A wet laugh escaped her lips, "Besides, if I don't keep an eye on you here who knows just who else you'll end up dragging home with you one day!?"
"Mhmm, I think I'll take Blacksmith, Hephaestus-sama," She turned her head and gave our Goddess a beatific smile, "That's my final answer."
Hephaestus slid the falna closed, and with a quick flourish, she copied Liliruca's new stats onto a sheet of parchment before handing it to my Pallum betrothed- the young woman pulled her shirt down over her head as her eyes voraciously devoured the words on the page.
I placed my hands on my hips and grinned, "Congratulations, Liliruca Arde, you are now a High-Class Adventurer… one of the Top 10% of Adventurers in Orario. How does it feel?"
She gave me a watery grin as she handed the sheet over to me, "It doesn't feel real, if Lili is being honest. Lili had consigned herself to being a Supporter for a long time, but the past few years have opened up Lili's eyes and shown her that if she really tries… she can succeed."
She swallowed as her hand came up to rub at her dribbling nose, " I can succeed."
Liliruca Arde
Level 1 - Level 2
Strength: 820A - 999 S - 0 I
Endurance: 799 B - 999 S - 0 I
Dexterity: 788 B - 999 S - 0 I
Agility: 698 C - 999 S - 0 I
Magic: 601 C - 999 S - 0 I
Developmental Ability:
- Blacksmith I: Gain improved blacksmithing skills with small increases to the durability of all crafted items. Gain the ability to forge weapons, armor, and items from Monster Drop Items. Gain the ability to imbue additional strength, durability, and other effects from Monster Drop Items into weapons, armor, and items.
Skills:
- "Pallum Spirit": Greatly increases all basic stats, and the potency of Spells, and Skills when faced with adversity.
Magic:
- "Cinder-ella": Take on the physical characteristics of other people or races, does not allow a change in height or mass.
- "Soothing Touch": A healing spell that is about half as potent as a low-grade healing potion- capable of healing minor bruises and small lacerations. Gives a rejuvenating effect as well, comparable to a shot of espresso.
- "Forest Breeze": A healing spell that is twice as potent than Soothing Touch (Equivalent ot a minor healing potion), but while it cannot heal more severe wounds it makes up for it in being able to heal in a radius of 1 meter around the caster, allowing multiple people to be healed at one time. Gives a rejuvenating effect as well, comparable to a low-grade Stamina Potion.
"Yes, my dear, you can indeed," I handed the sheaf of parchment back to Hephaestus and grabbed onto her hand to help her up, "Come on, Liliruca, let's go gather the others and tell them the good news! Any place you want to go to dinner tonight?"
Liliruca looked at our intertwined fingers and blushed, "I think that I would like to wear that dress you bought for me a few months ago, Bell. Maybe someplace a bit fancy?"
A small smile tugged at my lips, "Alright, I think I know of a place that we can all go to. Let me write out a few messages, send them out with some couriers, and I'll hire a carriage to take us all out for a fancy little night out on the town."
"You only become Level 2 once, after all," Hephaestus smiled broadly as she walked around the chair and wrapped the both of us up in a big hug.
She probably did it because Tsubaki-nee was absent, the half-dwarf preparing for her own extended expedition into the Dungeon. Heh, she thought that she could hide that from me?
Giving us a firm squeeze she broke the hug and planted a kiss on the crowns of our heads before ushering us towards the door, "Make sure to enjoy the evening fully, alright? Bell is going to be incredibly busy over the next few weeks."
"We will, Hephaestus-sama," I replied, giving Liliruca's hand a gentle tug as we walked out of the door and strode down the hall back towards our dorms.
At seven-thirty in the evening, after spending a few hours getting all gussied up, Liliruca and I climbed into the carriage I had hired and we swung by the Miach and Skadi familia compounds to pick up Naaza, Khemi, and Sooka. I was pleased to see that three of them were ready to go, on time, which was something of a rarity because in my past life I don't think I ever had a date where the woman wasn't scrambling at the last minute to get ready; a cliche, I know, but it didn't make it any less true.
We enjoyed a wonderful little meal, and after a few bottles of wine split between all of us we piled back into the carriage and I returned all of my betrothed to their respective homes, giving each of them a firm kiss good night, much to the amusement of our carriage driver.
It took a little bit of finangling to extract myself from Liliruca's squid-like grasp as we made it back to our respective rooms in our dormitories, and despite the raging boner in my pants I managed to get away with giving Liliruca the same evening pleasantry I gave the others. She was visibly disappointed that I didn't wish to join her in her room, but I was adamant about waiting until we were all bound in marriage before we began anything more than fooling around; since she was more interested in going all the way (and likely having something to hang over Naaza's head since those two were in constant competition with one another) I decided that going to bed alone and cooling off would be for the best.
All I had to do was give myself a good yank in bed, spilling my seed into one of the socks I wore into the Dungeon earlier and I was out like a light with a smile on my face.
[The Next Day]
[Bell Winters]
I probably should have expected this, especially since the Captain of the Arachne familia knew when I would be beginning my work.
"I will be coming along with you and supervising your work, Bell Winters-kun," Trisha Gothold spoke demurely, her soft voice caressing my ears.
Now if only her voice matched the ice-cold stare and stern visage!
The woman wore a simple but heavily embroidered brown dress that reached down to her ankles where a pair of black leather boots with modest platform heels poked out from underneath the hem. Over the top of that was a plain white apron that had multiple pockets sewn across the front that would, and did, hold the numerous instruments of her trade within their confines. Her plain brown hair was pulled up into its signature bun, and her brown eyes were anything but warm.
I gave her a tight smile, "I'm only going over there to get her measurements, Gothold-sensei, I won't be making the dress then and there."
"I am well aware of that, but if you are going to be working on the dress for someone as auspicious as the Sword Princess then surely you wouldn't wish to have someone with more experience on hand?" She arched an eyebrow cooly, "You've only been under my tutelage a few scant months, and then you spent two months down in the Dungeon… unless I am to believe that you also kept up with your training during your downtime as well?"
I winced and shook my head, "I've done some practicing in the time that I've been back, and I can tell that my skills haven't deteriorated since then, Gothold-sensei."
She sniffed, the woman shifting her weight just enough for her skirts to sway, "Considering you've only fashioned the simplest of dresses to practice your stitching I do not believe that you have the sufficient skills to create the masterpiece you wish to create- at least not without supervision."
As much as I wanted to poke the proverbial bear and ask "How hard could it be?" I knew better than to do so, and if my hellish sensei was willing to sacrifice her time and effort to overwatch the proceedings to make sure that I didn't fuck this up then I would keep my mouth shut and take the proffered help.
Only idiots turned down free help unless it was a test of personal skill.
Seeing as this was me wanting to make the best set of armor possible I would be a fool to decline her help; I could always challenge myself later.
I bowed my head and spoke as earnestly as I could, "Then I would be thankful for your insight, Gothold-sensei, so please, continue to look after me until such time that I can perform the tasks I desire without fail."
A pleased hum escaped her lips and she gave me a small nod, the slightest of smiles ghosting on her lips. "Excellent, then, shall we go?"
"Oh. It's you ."
I could practically feel the malice radiating off of the Goddess of Mischief and Trickery as she peered down at me with her arms crossed, hip cocked out confrontationally, and a sneeriest of sneers curling her lip. To add insult to injury she spat to the side.
A brilliant grin peeled my own lips back and I chuckled, "Of course it's me, Loki-sama, I did go through and send a messenger a few days ago that I would be coming by today to take Aiz-san's measurements, did I not?"
The tapping of metal on paving stone grew closer, and down the paved walk from the front of the Twilight Manor strode the Loki familia's very own Riveria Ljos Alf, Princess of the North Wood, and future Empress of the Alf Empire. She was just as gorgeous as I remembered, her shimmering hair spilling down from her crown in a verdant waterfall. A pleasant smile graced her lips as her emerald eyes crinkled at the sight of me, "Indeed you did, Winters-kun, and I for one am excited to see that after many long years of waiting the day has finally come for you to fulfill your oath as Aiz-chan's Contracted Smith."
"Bell-kun! You're finally here!" I hear a youthful voice bellow out, and it dragged my attention up to the large, open bay windows of the highest tower of the manor. Tiona practically hung out over the side, the dark-skinned Amazon waving at me energetically for a few moments before she turned her head inside; her words were a touch muffled but I could still hear her clearly, "Aiz-chan! Aiz-chan! Bell-kun's here for your measurements!"
Riveria let out a pleasant chuckle that made my stomach twist itself into knots, the High Elf's eyes watching the Amazon's antics, "Though it appears that there are some others that are even far more excited than I."
Before I could respond I felt my heart leap up into my throat as Tiona's arm reached inside and grabbed onto something, and then she was tumbling out the window with Aiz Wallenstein in tow. It was maybe six stories from the sill down to the ground, and intellectually I knew that such a fall was child's play, but I guess even after all of these years of performing insane, inhuman feats of strength and agility the sight of someone falling still got to me.
Despite their haphazard tumble the pair of young women easily righted themselves, their feet touching down on the paving stone in front of the mansion with nary a sound. A small snort left my lips as Aiz softly chastised the Amazon as they walked towards the front gate, "Please, Tiona-chan, next time warn me before pulling me out of a window."
Tiona giggled airily as she skipped towards us, the young woman's fingers interlaced behind her head as the gold bracelets and anklets clinked with each bouncing step. It was a shame that she didn't have as much in the up-top department as her sister, Tione, because such a bouncy gait would have been truly a sight for my teenage eyes to behold. Still, there was enough there to make her tight tube top bulge slightly, and while she didn't have boobs or curves her thighs were still attractive and she had an infectious attitude that I felt would fit nicely within my already sizeable harem. "I can't make any promises, Aiz-chan! Besides, you should be more excited than me- this is the start of your first true set of armor! Made by our Bell-kun!"
The blonde tilted her head as they walked, "But… I am excited?"
The sound of the metal gate shuddering drew my eyes away from the approaching pair, Loki's grip on the iron was white-knuckled. "A-Aiz-tan… you're not supposed to be excited for this jumped up, white-haired, wannabe furball smith!"
"Loki-sama," Riveria's voice was cool, "Aiz-chan was impressed with Bell-kun's work when they first met those years ago, and she has decided that she will see just how well he can create a set of armor that will meet her specifications."
"Unless you negotiate an exclusive contract with a smithing familia then Aiz-chan is free to choose who she wishes to see to her needs," The elf Princess drew herself up, her back straight and eyes firm, "that and may I remind you that you've had years to do so. So, please, Loki-sama, dispense with the drama and cease giving the boy a hard time for the sake of it."
"Feh, fine," Loki growled as she grasped the handle on the gate and tugged it open to allow myself and Trisha Gothold entrance, "Rain on my parade why don't you. Man, I remember when you used to be so cute, and now you've finally completed your transformation into a cool beauty! What happened to the Riveria that would stutter and-!"
"Ha- hem ."
Silence reigned for a few moments as Trisha's clearing of her throat garnered everyone's attention. The woman sniffed and folded her hands in front of her waist, "Loki-sama, if you would please. The boy has a great deal of work ahead of him and I too have other matters to attend to later on the evening, so if we could focus on the task at hand?"
The Goddess sucked her on her bottom lip for a few moments before she shoved her hands into the front pockets of her hoodie, "Fine, fine, fine. Let's go."
Trisha and I strolled into through the gate, the lone Loki familia member shutting it firmly behind us as he all marched as a group towards the front entrance of the Twilight Manor. I shifted my messenger bag with my tools to my lower back so that I could give Tiona a side hug and plant a gentle peck just behind her ear, "Hello, Tiona, it's good to see you again. How have you been, Princess?"
She gave me a firm kiss on my cheek before nestling into my side with both hands covering up her megawatt grin, "Hee, hee, hee. Oh, gosh, even after all this time I get all tingly when you call me that, Bell-kun. Such a charmer!"
"Tch, charmer my ass," Loki groused, but a side-eye from her High Elf child silenced any further complaints.
"Well, Tione-chan and I are almost to Level 5! Just a few more months and we'll be standing right beside Aiz-chan here!" The Amazon reached over, placing her arm around the blonde's shoulders before pulling her in close.
I grinned as we approached the front steps, "Congratulations, Tiona, and if I don't see Tione then be sure to tell her that I'm proud of your accomplishments. Level 5 is no easy feat, and it speaks well to your efforts and determination to come as far as you have."
My red eyes flickered over towards Aiz, "The same goes for you as well, Aiz-san."
The blonde's golden eyes blinked and a slight dusting of pink tinged her cheeks as she nodded, "Thank you for your kind words."
"Hee, hee, hee, oh, she's just so bashful!" The Amazon giggled, but she cut her laughter short so that she could wrap her arms around my chest and waist, the young woman pressing her small breasts against my side. What they lacked in size they made up for it in firmness, "Now, what about you, Bell-kun? You went down into the Dungeon for two whole months!"
A chuckle escaped my lips as I wrapped an arm around her back and gripped the flesh of her side, giving the smooth, slightly fatty swell of her hip a gentle squeeze. Her grin grew wider at my interest, and she waggled her eyebrows at me; I had to breathe deeply to stymie the boner that threatened to start swelling in my pants. "Yeah, it was a very tough training expedition, but it certainly bore fruit. Not only did I get a great number of monster cores and drop items, but it was also enough to net me my Level 4! Some of the choice materials I picked up down there will also be making their way into the armor and weapons I will be making, so do look forward to that, Aiz-san."
"Congratulations, Bell-kun! That's wonderful!" Tiona gave me a big squeeze as Aiz nodded in agreement.
"Indeed, that is quite a feat, Bell-kun," Riveria hummed, the elf Princess giving me a small nod, "Far too few manage to reach their second step toward Divinity, even less make the third step, and far fewer still reach the fourth. That is a wonderful accomplishment, especially for one so young such as yourself."
"Tch, my Aiz-tan made Level 5! S'not that impressive."
I rolled my eyes at Loki's bellyaching. She'd been doing this for years already, when would she give it a rest!
The front entrance of the Twilight Manor had massive wooden double doors that were, from my estimations, at least four meters tall, and they were made of a thick, durable Iron Wood with steel sheets that had sizeable nails holding the slats making up the doors together. Though having such monstrous doors and using them would be silly, and my suspicions were confirmed as we walked up the white stone staircase a much more reasonable door built into the other doors came into view; it was still quite large, maybe eight feet tall and four feet wide, but considering how widely the body sizes of Adventurers could be it was a prudent design choice.
Riveria grabbed onto the ring of the door and gently tugged it open, the woman stepping aside and ushering us all in. The moment the door was closed the woman once more took the lead, "We will be conducting the measurements in one of our less used storerooms, I hope that won't be an issue?"
I shook my head as Tiona peeled herself off from my side and she danced towards the head of our group with a melodic giggle escaping her lips, the Amazon dragging Aiz forward by the hand. "Not at all, Riveria-sama. This should only take a few minutes to gather all of the measurements I need, and maybe a few more minutes to go over the design that I had in mind. We should have this wrapped up in no time at all, and I can head back to the forge to begin working."
Tiona's head whipped towards me, "Oh! Speaking of the forge…"
A sigh escaped my lips as she strode down the carpeted entrance hall following after Riveria, "Yes, Tiona?"
"Eh hee, hee, hee," The Amazon rubbed at the back of her head with her free hand, "Weeeellllll… Tione and I might have gone a little teensy-bit overboard on our last dive."
I shook my head with a rueful grin. Ah, the life of a smith when your customers had a penchant for breaking everything you put in front of them. At least she had the decency to be sheepish. "I made those blades extra durable for you two, how did you break them this time?"
"I-it wasn't our fault!" Tiona protested with a squawk, "It wasn't your fault either, I mean, they aren't really rated for the deep floors that Tione-chan and I have been training on with Aiz-chan here- and they held up great this time! It's just that… well… Flame Rocks are really hard monsters!"
"Not to mention they're also really hot monsters as well," I spoke as I recalled all of the information on the molten golem-like monsters that could be found in the Volcano Deep- specifically the 44th floor, "Likely the constant heating and cooling of the blade caused stresses to form within the Damascus. Granted, if you'd told me that you were going to be venturing down that far I would have stepped you up to Nosteel; the magical metals handle the monsters you'd face down there."
"Meh, that sounds expensive, Bell-kun!" The Amazon giggled, "How about we just stick to Damascus, hmm? The blades you made for us lasted a whole four months!"
"Please, in here," Riveria stopped in front of a non-descript door and pulled it open.
"You're lucky I had the forethought to make a spare set for both you and your sister. If I'm being honest I didn't expect them to last even that long, but I guess that just goes to show that you've been taking care of them properly. Regardless, just swing by the forge and ask Helena to get you the weapons I left for you- they'll serve as a stopgap until I get Aiz's weapons and armor finished and can fashion you and Tione new blades," I spoke as we followed after the Princess and into a small store room that had a fair amount of light pouring in through some slightly dusty windows. There were a few miscellaneous crates here and there, and in the center of the room was a box that was rather tall- that one would make it much faster to get her lower extremities done.
The door was closed behind us and I watched Trisha move off to the side of the room, the woman taking a seat and resting her hands in her lap as she gazed at me critically. I cleared my throat and clapped my hands before striding off to stand in front of one of the taller crates to unpack my messenger bag, "Yes, well. We can discuss your new weapons at a later date, Tiona. Right now I'm here to get Aiz-san's measurements."
I turned towards Aiz once I'd unpacked everything and interlaced my fingers, resting them on my belly. "Now, Aiz-san."
"Yes?" The blonde perked up and the Amazon let her go so that she could walk toward me, stopping once she had reached the crate in the middle of the room.
"Now, I'm certain that you've had a great deal of clothes made for you that necessitated a visit to the seamstress, yes?" At her nod I continued, "Then you should know by now the standard procedure for getting your measurements taken. I do not know if you've ever disrobed before a male seamster or not, but in order to get the best measurements possible I will need you to disrobe down to your undergarments."
She blinked and then she looked down at the blue dress she was currently wearing and a deep blush spread across her cheeks. "O-okay."
I sighed and scratched at the side of my head, "The last thing I want to make you feel, Aiz-san, is uncomfortable. My job, my goal, is to make you the best suit of armor that I can, and one day I wish to see my creations be regarded as some of the best in the entire world. I know that this might be more than a little embarrassing, but please, trust that in regards to what is about to transpire that I will be quick, non-invasive, and efficient in taking your measurements. My sensei wouldn't accept any sort of tomfoolery from me anyhow, not that I am so inclined."
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Trisha give me a pleased nod.
Aiz Wallenstein's golden eyes dropped down to the floor for a few moments before they came up and she scrutinized my face, no doubt carefully looking for any form of deceit. Not that I was being untruthful with my words or anything- I wasn't going to perv on this girl while I was discharging my duties- and even if I was a shameless pervert I'd be an utter madman to do so in front of a soon-to-be Level 5, a soon-to-be Level 6, and an insanely jealous Goddess who'd look for any excuse to kick my ass to the curb.
After a few moments the young woman nodded firmly, "Yes, I trust you, Bell-san."
"Excellent, well, shall we begin then?"
Truth be told, Aiz Wallenstein had a rocking body- she was thin and lithe with excellent muscle tone and flawless white skin. The young woman also had excellent curves, a generous bust for her age, and the bottom swells of her asscheeks were spectacular; the thigh gap and camel toe were positively unreal, but considering her lifestyle and the beauty-enhancing effects of the falna this much was to be expected.
Not that I actually had a chance to look at it for more than a fraction of a second- I moved through the measurements at a blistering pace, triple-checking each measurement before writing it down onto a small diagram that came from the Holy Diver's storehouse; her hips were measured at three different locations, her inseam, thighs, legs, calves, and ankles were all done in record time. Her bottom was something that I almost waffled on, but I got my act together real quick and made sure that it was done correctly; the body glove was one of the key pieces of the armor, and getting it done right was incredibly important.
After that I had her step off of the box so that I could measure her torso, wingspan, shoulders, each arm individually- to include her wrists- and her bust. With my charcoal pencil clenched between my teeth, I measured her chest beneath her breasts, her breasts themselves, and above her breasts. Thankfully I was able to do all of this from behind her, only leaning over her shoulders or taking a small step to the side to make sure that my measuring tape was level and in the proper place. The last place I needed to get was her neck, and once that was done I flicked the tape off to the side before rolling it up.
All in all, it took me about five minutes, "Alright, we're finished, Aiz-san. You may get dressed."
She nodded seriously, but the contrast between her stern, determined visage and the splotchy redness of her cheeks was quite cute. Though I didn't really pay more attention as I turned away and picked up my book, jotting down the last few measurements before closing it up and stuffing it back into the bag. Slotting the measuring tape into its little pouch I picked up my sketchbook and flipped over to the pages that contained my refined drawings for her armor. "Now, all we need to do is look over this design and-"
"No."
I blinked and looked at Aiz, who'd already pulled her dress back on and was tightening up the straps on her sandals. The young woman took her foot off of the crate and shook her head once she straightened herself up, "I don't think I need to see it. I trust that you'll have something comfortable and functional for me to wear into the Dungeon."
"Aiz-tan, it's got to be cute too! Aiz-tan! Don't forget it's got to be cute!" Loki dropped to her knees, her hands raising towards the ceiling as she whispered in a needy fashion.
Aiz twitched at her Goddess' words, but she continued on as if the woman hadn't spoken, "So, surprise me, Bell-san."
I felt a small, crooked smile tug at my lips as I flipped the sketchbook shut and slid it into my bag. "Well, I think that you'll be very pleased with what I'm cooking up, Aiz-san. So please, look forward to it, okay?"
"Mhmm." She nodded as a small smile graced her lips as well, the two of us locked gazes for a few moments before Trisha cleared her throat and interrupted.
"You needn't worry, the design he had in mind was very well thought out, not to mention quite aesthetically pleasing. It will be durable and fashionable, you can rest assured of that," The woman reached up and cinched the white ribbon holding her bun in place tightly, "Now whether or not he has the skills to make such a brilliant design come to fruition is another matter entirely."
My smile turned a touch more brittle. Who needs skills when you have Mystery ?
[Eight days later]
If I'm being honest, this had been a fair amount harder than I would have liked, but after multiple attempts, I felt like I'd made a great deal of progress.
The dress itself was made from Loup Garou fur as it had excellent durability and when woven with Salamander Wool it was fairly resistant to fire and heat; I had to purchase three dozen Loup Garou furs from the Guild Market where it was taken to the Arachne familia for processing. The furs were placed in an enchanted tank that was filled with a few proprietary chemicals that caused all of the fur to leave the skin, and after being strained they were dumped into a hopper that fed into a magical spinning wheel that took all of the inches long individual fur fibers and spun them into a single coherent thread. The remaining skins were sent over to a tannery, and once they were completed they were sold to a cobbler that would make the boots that would serve as the foundation for the greaves she would wear- a quick runner with a message to the Loki familia ensured that Aiz would make her way over there and provide her feet, ankle, and calf measurements for the cobbler to make them.
Spoiler: Spinning Wheel
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Once the thread was created it was then fed into an old loom that wove the individual fibers into coherent bolts of Loup Garou fabric that were then taken and left to sit in vats of Chumin Chalk and black charcoal in order to dye them white and black. Interesting to note that almost every piece of equipment that was enchanted was created by Lenoa the Witch, and it was interesting to see the various works of the old woman.
Spoiler: Loom
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Those processes took a few days, so I spent my time waiting to create three changes of the dress fashioned out of regular textiles, and unlike the final combat version of the dress I stuck to the more traditional version of the Saber Lily outfit; I left the arms and upper back exposed which should satisfy Loki's desire for the dresses to be cute. The idea was that Aiz would wear these dresses as part of her day-to-day, and when she went to delve into the Dungeon then the Goddess would have no right to complain about how the dress was- while still fashionable- still had a more combat-oriented bent to the design.
Still, making clothing isn't as easy a task as many would make it out to be, and the task would have been much, much, much harder without a generous helping of enchanted tools I created through Mystery . The first was an enchanted Xacto knife that could cut only what the wielder desired to cut, a pair of sheers that were incredibly precise and helped guide the user's hand to keep the cut on track, a sewing needle that could puncture any fabric, and likewise kept the stitching on track, and the final piece was a steel wire framed mannequin that could change its size and shape to match the measurements that were input on the back plate.
The backplate was the hardest thing to create, and I had to go to Lenoa and utilize her Metalworking Developmental Ability to create the dials and knobs that adjusted the mannequin's dimensions based on the 37 measurements that Trisha Gothold and the Arachne familia used to get their form-fitting designs. The enchantment, while of my design, wasn't something that I could reasonably create on my own, so I created a contract with the old Witch that split the profits 45/55 in Lenona's favor. Between the two of us, we were able to enchant the plate and the size-changing mannequin in just under five hours when it would have taken me a week of constant effort to finish it off.
It was thanks to this mannequin that I was able to easily create the body gloves that would be worn underneath the armor and dress. The body suits themselves were made from a combination of Skull Sheep wool and cotton poplin that provided the fabric the ability to stretch quite a bit, meaning that we would have to fashion fewer suits as Aiz continued to grow. Though, if I'm being honest, I don't think she'll grow much more than she already has, it was always best to plan ahead. The body gloves were double-layered held in place by quilt-like stitch patterns that ensured the layers would rub, wear, or slip around while she was wearing them; it was incredibly important that the body glove sticks to her like a second skin.
Let me be honest and say that the only thing that made my dresses turn out as nice as they did was the fact that I had stellar eyesight, stellar stats, stellar enchanted tools, a well-fleshed-out plan of what I wanted the dresses to look like, and that I had someone as hard-nosed as Trisha Gothold standing over my shoulder and hounding me every stitch of the way. The trial and error that would have occurred while making these dresses would have been real, but by shelving my pride and asking for help from those more experienced than me I was able to make the final dress for the combat armor and the three dresses for everyday wear (visual branding is important to Adventurers) in just over a week.
During the downtime in between spurts of stitching and other needlework, I sat myself down at the chainmail workstation within the forges and got to work creating what was essentially a longsleeved chainmail romper that ended at just above the knee. Vornir kept the promise he made to me so many months ago by giving me his personal recipe for a Light Metal/Damascus alloy that would give the best mixture of durability and lightness, something that we improved upon by Insert Forging some of the Glidesaurus bones; the pseudo-Pteradactyl monster bones were only marginally better than the Deadly Hornet Chitin I had initially planned on using, but considering I had a small mountain of the bones on hand it made sense to use them instead of the few Chitin I had stocked up.
Fashioning up some enchanted tools and jigs made the process almost painless, but considering it was a double-layered fine mail it took a great deal of time for me to complete it.
After the chainmail romper was finished I encapsulated it in a thin layer of Skull Sheep fabric with some thin impact-absorbing cotton quilt on the inside that I enchanted to distribute kinetic impacts across the entirety of the armor piece instead of allowing it to be focused; that would allow it to withstand piercing and physical blows far better than if it had been by itself. In the end, it all looked like a strange fusion of romper, chainmail, and gambeson that was a pristine white, and despite the combination of various elements that should have left it looking like a fashion disaster I thought that it turned out to look halfway decent- after all, it wasn't like it was meant to be worn by itself; it would be underneath a beautiful combat dress and armored cuirass with elbow length gauntlets and knee-high armored greaves.
The armor plates themselves were fashioned from a 70/30 Nosteel-Light Metal alloy blend that I had Power Bull horns Insert Forged into the stock; this gave it exceptional durability for its weight, and the horns lightened the color of the alloy up to give it a white pearl sheen that contrasted beautifully with the light grey color of the metal itself.
The armor for the chest and back was an interesting design challenge that took Vornir and myself the better part of a day bandying back and forth about the pros and cons of the iterations I'd written down. While the 'vanilla' Saber Lily chest piece wasn't a heinous boob plate, the natural curve would almost always deflect a cut or thrust to the side. This was good because you didn't want the strike to land fully, but due to the curvature, it would deflect the blow up and towards the shoulders or armpit, which was something you did not want to happen. We solved this problem by adding a lip that would catch a blade and arrest its movement along the corners- this would ultimately end up allowing the armor to catch the full weight of the strike and might upset Aiz's balance, but it was far better than having it skitter off of her armor and put the chainmail's durability to the test. The same lip was added to the gorget that protected the hollow of her throat and neck so that a blade wouldn't be redirected in such a fashion that the strike could take her head clean off.
The gauntlets were made from the same alloy as the rest of the exterior armor, and they were fully articulated to allow her the desired dexterity and control over her gloves of choice while still giving excellent protection.
After twelve days of hard work, the entire outfit was almost complete- I just needed the boots to be handed over by the cobbler so that the armor plates for the greaves could be riveted into place and it would all be done!
[Five days later]
The fires from the forge roared as I worked the accordion blower with my foot, but thanks to my stellar Endurance I was barely warm enough to start sweating within the confines of my section of the forge workshop.
"Are you ready, laddie?" Vornir rumbled as he looked over the assembled tools and materials that I had meticulously laid out on the tables next to the forge.
I swept my eyes across a trio of Nosteel rapiers that were indicative of my design philosophy on weapons- they were a little bit chunkier than other weapons of the style because I was a firm believer in the extra weight being negligible in the face of the additional durability and killing power; Adventurers had monstrous levels of strength, so what was a few extra pounds of material when you could shred steel with your fingers?
Spoiler: Legion Series Damascus Rapier
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They were part of what I would call my "Legion" series of Rapiers because I knew that I would probably end up making a lot of them given how hard Aiz Wallenstein was on her weapons. They were made of pure Damascus, something that wasn't exactly up to standard for the Lower Floors that she was currently running on, but after having some Packosaur fangs Insert Forged into the base material it would see her well into the high 40's, maybe even into the low 50's floor wise.
The philosophy behind the weapons was twofold- create a durable weapon that she could trust to kill the monsters of the lower floors while also serving as a training aid for her Ariel-based wind magics. Damascus was a poor conductor of magic by its very nature, but that didn't mean Aiz Wallenstein couldn't use her magic with it… if anything it would just make it very difficult to do so. It would discourage her from utilizing it as a crutch in the short term while encouraging her to use it for training her control over her magic in the long term- if she could use Ariel on one of these rapiers with good control then she could likely utilize it far more effectively and efficiently with the weapon that I was about to craft now.
I tore my eyes away from the dancing flames and gazed at Vornir before giving him a firm nod. "Yes, Vornir-oji, I think I'm finally ready to finish this whole project out."
I exhaled deeply and grabbed a pair of Valmarth/Nosteel ingots that I created with a 50/50 blend. Why did I use Valmarth? Well, even though it was a magical metal that was picky- mainly choosing Dwarves and Beastkin to be its preferred wielders- I learned that Aiz Wallenstein's primary weapon of the canon series was a pure Valmarth blade that had been infused with the Durandal property to give it additional strength.
In the past, I'd made the common mistake of referring to the Durandal property as an "enchantment", but now that I know what actual enchanting is to call it as such would be a mistake. The Durandal property is added when Orichalcum dust is infused into the metals during the forging process, the ultra-fine magical powder adding additional structural rigidity as well as improving its ability to receive and transfer Mind. It also, as a consequence, gave it the added benefit of being able to easily withstand the acids that the Virga monsters that Evilus would make later on down the line.
Anyways, Aiz Wallenstein was able to utilize a pure Valmarth blade despite being neither Beastkin nor Dwarf, and I believe that this is due to her lineage as a demi-spirit. Do I know this for certain? No, I do not, but in my mind, the Nosteel added a great number of benefits over pure Valmarth, the primary part of it being the magical metal's meta-magical property of being a somewhat "lazy" metal. It absorbed heat more slowly than the other metals, it resisted kinetic impacts more than other metals, and it wasn't as snappy at taking in Mind or magical spells as other metals. Valmarth was like Hiriirokane and Heroic Alloy in that it was "snappy" and "responsive" towards those the magical metals deem acceptable, but Nosteel? Nosteel accepted everyone, but it just didn't do anything quickly.
The Mind would go where it needed to go, how it needed to go, but it was just a little more lethargic than the other metals.
By combining the Valmarth and the Nosteel into a single alloy we could get the best of both worlds for a weapon that was incredibly durable, very magically conductive, and when combined with a solid drop item like a Bloodsaurus fang with the Durandal property on top of that?
Well, with an outstanding alloy like this who needed Mithril?
Granted, if we're being fair, all of these combinations put it almost on the level of the fabled Mithril, but it was a fair bit cheaper- it was just more costly in time and effort. This weapon would end up costing around 120 Million valis when everything was said and done, a twenty percent price hike over Aiz's 99 Million valis Desperate, but considering it would be half again as durable thanks to the additional rigidity and resistance to outside forces from the Nosteel I think that this was well worth the additional cost.
Though, since she was my contract and I was able to obtain a lot of the materials as a consequence of my training… I would charge her cost plus twenty percent- a far cry from the forty to fifty percent that most smiths would charge for their labor.
Besides, having the Sword Princess using my weapons and armor would be a huge boost to my reputation, something that would boost my business even more than the few dozen million valis I'd gain from charging her full price.
I blinked and shook myself out of my musings when I saw that the twin ingots I had placed in the forge were the perfect color- the almost molten luster catching my attention. With tongs in hand I grabbed one of the ingots while Vornir grabbed the other, and then with a careful hand I placed one of the massive Bloodsaurus fangs in between them on the anvil; it looked rather silly considering the fang was twice the size of the ingots, but upon channeling my mind into the tongs and activating the Blacksmith DA I knew that the material would break down just fine and wouldn't add any additional mass.
Considering I was actually stronger than Vornir at this point I took the lead, raising my hammer above my head and swinging down on the sandwiched ingots with a mighty blow. The alloy deformed around the fang just a touch, and I swung again with a little bit more 'oomph' behind it.
Blow after blow I delivered, and as the Adamantium hammer met the ValNo ingots a beautiful song of metal on metal filled the air. With each successive strike, the ingot deformed around the Bloodsaurus fang, and soon the mass of the fang began to shrink as the near-molten metal covered its surface.
It felt like an eternity to me as I watched the metal slowly begin to change colors as the heat left it with each swing of the hammer, but in all actuality, less than a minute had passed. Soon I had the two ingots fully flattened out, and with a wedge, we began the process of folding the Insert Forge plate back into an ingot- reheating the metal until we had a single finished ingot.
That was when I threw it in for the final heat while Vornir turned around and grabbed an adamantium lock box and fiddled with the key for a few moments. The top was popped open and a black silk pouch was pulled out, and when he sat it down on the table and undid the cinch straps I realized that this was the first time I'd ever laid eyes on Orichalcum- even as a powder! The ingots were absurdly expensive, and Hephaestus had the few that we had locked up within the familia's bank vault along with the funds of the familia members- if my Goddess' lectures were to be believed one hundred kilograms of Orichalcum had purchased an entire kingdom long ago, and seeing it in person I could understand why.
There was just… something about it.
Even in its powdered form, the feeling of unparalleled strength was palpable, and its luster was unimaginable. The metal was cobalt in color, but there was virtually no way that you could mistake this for anything but Orichalcum- even sitting on the table in a black velvet pouch the metal was drinking in the mana in the air and starting to glow.
"Heh, this is your first time seeing it, isn't it? Heh, heh, heh," Vornir rubbed his nose with his Adamantium Hammer Hand, a look of abject glee on his face as he looked at my unbridled shock, "Always is a treat seeing someone, uh, see Orichalcum for the first time."
I shook my head as I did my best to pick my jaw up from the floor, "Well, I can understand why now, at the very least."
He sniffed and popped his neck, "Anyways, your Blacksmith is at F-rank, right?"
"Yeah, it's not that high, I know, but-" I began to speak, but Vornir's meaty paw settling on top of my head silenced me.
"Boy, I've been a Smith in service to our Goddess Hephaestus for 55 years now, and I was a Smith in the northlands for 40 years before even that. Almost one hundred years of smithing experience rests within these bones, and despite all of that… my Blacksmith is only at the D-Rank," He gave my head a squeeze before ruffling my hair, "Your Blacksmith is already on the level of most of the familia members here, boy, so don't be talking down about yerself."
He tilted his head to the side, a small look of bemusement on his face, "Unless you happen to be fishing for compliments?"
I scoffed and crossed my arms over my chest, "I hardly need anything like that, but considering no one is free with such things- even within our own familia- and I don't have access to everyone's records like Tsubaki-nee does as the Captain… I just don't have a frame of reference as to how far and how quickly I am progressing in my chosen craft."
Vornir chuckled, his belly wobbling as he patted my shoulder forcefully, "Yeah-yup! I could see why that might catch ya off guard- but, to let you know why I asked, there is a requirement of F-Rank to infuse Orichalcum to make the Durandal enchantment work properly; if ye ain't got the rank then it just won't work for ya."
I winced internally at his use of the word "enchantment", but I shook it off. "Well, we've gone over how to do this as many times as we can, but it's high time that we get to it- no sense in holding off any longer."
Vornir nodded and reached into the velvet bag to pull out three large pinches from his fingers as I pulled the ingot out of the forge and smacked it until it was ready to be folded; he sprinkled the first pinch on, I folded the metal, smacked it some more, he sprinkled the second pinch on, and we repeated the process until the Orichalcum dust was all gone.
I ended up needing to fold the metal almost thirty more times while I poured my Mind into the ingot, and half an hour later I was ready to forge the weapon and finish this damn sword off!
[2 days Later]
[Hephaestus]
"Kami-sama. Tsubaki-nee is going down into the Dungeon, isn't she?"
"Yes, she is, Bell-kun- though I wonder how you managed to hear about it? She wanted to keep this little trip of hers a secret."
"Well, she isn't as stealthy as she thinks she is, and to think that she would think that I'd allow her to go down there and do something crazy without letting me make her something!"
"I hardly think that you of all people are qualified to call her crazy."
"Heh, definitely, but… I can't let her go down there unprepared; her needs as far as difficulty are going to be a lot higher than my own were, so she'll need to be doing far more dangerous things than I ever did."
"That comes with the territory of being a High-Class Adventurer, Bell-kun. Danger will always be a requirement… no matter how much we wish it wouldn't be."
"I know, I know. I get it, Hephaestus-sama, but what kind of little brother would I be if I didn't at least make something for her to take down there with her? Who knows just how insane things will get?"
"Well, if that is what you want to do then I suppose I can help you- she likes katanas and other similar Far Eastern-styled blades, and those are something that you have little experience with. You can handle the majority of the work, and I'll handle the finer details. Does that sound acceptable, Bell-kun?"
"Of course it does, Hephaestus-sama.
Thank you
."
"You don't need to thank me for this, Bell-kun… she is one of my precious Children, and I want to protect her as well."
Between the two of them, it was easy for them to construct a Nodachi that would meet Tsubaki's exacting specifications for a weapon, though it was very much in the style of Bell's preferred methods; the blade was half again as thick, the curve was slightly less pronounced- something that Tsubaki would probably gripe about if not for the wicked tanto tip that was placed on the end versus the usual katana tip. This weapon would still be able to cut as a katana should, but its straighter blade and tanto tip meant that it was definitely a piercing weapon- and would be able to punch through even the toughest hides that monsters on the lower floors were known for.
There was a reason for it, though, as her Bell noted to her- "Piercing is part of its metaphysical nature."
The blade was pure black because they had used pure mithril to construct it, and because of the metal's properties, they didn't have to perform any of the other necessary works that one would for a traditional katana, such as ensuring there was a proper layering of hard, medium, and soft steels. Mithril was much like Adamantium in that such things rarely mattered when it came to making a katana from those metals, but it was still important if one wanted to make a blade using other materials.
Spoiler: Katana Layering Styles
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The hilt was just as black as the rest of the sword, with only a red-colored ray-wrapping adding a splash that caught the eye.
The mithril itself was quite costly, especially because of the desired blade profile and thickness, but in order to give this weapon the function Bell wanted it to have- an enchantment that he had yet to disclose to her- Hephaestus dug deep into her vault of valuable materials that the familia had been accruing over the many years.
Amphisbaena's Dragon Liver was a high-end drop item from the Monster Rex on the 27th floor, and while the monster almost always gave one up upon its death the sheer difficulty of killing it meant that getting her hands on one was a rarity unless it was delivered as part of a request. If the Goliath, a Level 5 monster, required a dedicated group of Level 4 adventurers to take it down, then the Amphisbaena was a borderline Level 6 monster; only Loki and Freya's familia had been able to take it down with any regularity since the departure of the Zeus and Hera familia's from the cities years ago.
He said that the "concept of a breath weapon" that the Monster Rex had would be crucial to making sure his enchantment would work, and once the weapon was completed he skittered off to Leona the Witch's Secret Magic Shop to enlist her aid in crafting the enchantment.
When he returned two days later, completely drained and on the verge of Mind Down he couldn't have looked any happier with himself. He handed over the sword for Hephaestus to inspect and she marveled at what she and her Child had created together, and just how powerful the enchantment was that rested upon it.
The sound of steel rasping against the hilt filled the room, and Hephaestus ran her gloved finger on the Far Eastern Kanji engraving; her mind read it as Tensa Zangetsu, or "Heaven Chain Slaying Moon".
Hephaestus felt her lips tug up into a smarmy grin as a chuckle escaped her lips.
Poor Tsubaki-chan just wasn't going to live down her phase as a chunnibyou any time soon, was she? Well, at least not while Bell-kun was still around, in any case.
With a small flex of her Divine authority, her magics sitting just underneath the skin, she watched in silent satisfaction as a flowing runic script absorbed mana from the air and glowed an eerie red. As a Goddess of Smithing she knew the purpose of this blade just as well as Bell did, and thanks to the connection between them due to Mystery she also knew the purpose of the enchantment that he had laid upon the weapon.
The sword drew in ambient mana, storing it within the blade and…
"Getsuga Tenshō…" Hephaestus whispered and the weapon flared to life, black and red energy pouring out of the blade like a living flame. If it were anyone else other than herself the enchantment would have activated fully, likely blowing away her office and a significant portion of her compound, but her control was adamantium-clad; it was just the barest hint of power, a subtle wafting to see just what the enchantment on the blade was capable of… and she wasn't disappointed in the slightest.
She held the blade out in front of her and gave it a gentle swish, the black and red power flowed off of the blade in a crescent that splashed harmlessly on the stone wall of her personal forge like a fog. She quirked her lip and entered into a stance where she thrust the sword forward in a perfect piercing strike- the power flowed forward in a tight column of ebony and scarlet flame that, despite her absolute control and bare minimum amount of power, still left a black scorch mark on the austere grey stone wall.
She cut the flow of Mind to the sword and with one last flick she shook off the remaining vestiges of red and black fire onto the stone floor before sheathing the weapon in an equally adorned sheath. The Goddess already knew that the scorch mark wasn't hot because the spell wasn't one of flame- it was merely styled after it for purely aesthetic purposes- but that didn't stop her from taking three steps forward so that she could run her gloved hand along the glassy, almost mirror-like surface of the blemish marring her wall.
Her leather gloves brushed against the surface with almost zero friction, and she shook her head with a sigh. "This is unlike anything I've ever seen before… Bell-kun."
It truly was.
Many a smith had dreams of emulating the fierce power of the Magic Swords that the Crozzo bloodline of Rakia had been known for, but due to their lack of imagination, skill, Mind, or the simple fact that their Blacksmith ability wasn't developed high enough… most fell short of that awesome power.
It still didn't stop them from trying, however, as Blacksmiths sought to turn power-filled monster cores into disposable weapons that could mimic the various effects that a smith would desire; daggers of red crystal that shot out gouts of flame, purple crystal swords that spread a wave of piercing ice when they were swung, and even swords of amber crystal that shot magical lightning wherever they were pointed.
The quality of the magical stone used, the amount of power that resided within it when it was used, and the skill and imagination of the smith was what truly mattered.
Though, the blades would be of a much higher quality if the practice of using near-spent monster cores hadn't become the primary method; almost empty monster cores were practically useless, and many smithies took them off the hands of the citizens and businesses with merely a tip of the hat. The near spent and completely spent cores were tossed into a large furnace where the crystal was fused by heat and the Blacksmith ability, and then it was pounded down into shape, the DA concentrating the power into the center core of the blade as the empty and useless portions were chipped away with each strike. By the end of the process, only a small sliver remained, usually only large enough for a dagger, but the sheer destructive potential for those small Magic Swords was not to be underestimated.
That was the current state of Magic Sword smithing in Orario- taking junk and recycling it into something useful for profit. Of course, if the people knew just how economical the whole process was they would likely riot, especially the Adventuring familias who paid large sums of valis for blades that could turn the tide of a major fight and potentially save lives.
This blade, however? This sword didn't meet the definition of a Magic Sword… it was different, something that hadn't been seen in at least three centuries.
"To think that I'd truly see an Enchanted Weapon that had been fashioned by mortal hands," Her lips quirked at the completely unimaginative classification for weapons such as this, but it certainly fit the bill.
Bell's face scrunched up cutely as he looked at the sheathed weapon in her hand, "Are they really so lazy as to call this such a thing? If anything the 'Magic Swords' should be called 'Effect Weapons' while this blade should be a true 'Magic Sword'. Though… I guess it is an Enchanted Weapon."
He shook his head and scrubbed at his cheek with the back of his hand, "Anyways, what do you think of the effect?"
Hephaestus blinked as she glanced back at the mark marring her wall one more time before humming as she walked forward and handed it back to him, "I must say that this effect is both inspiring and rather terrifying."
Bell scrubbed a hand through his white hair as he flicked the guard of the blade, nudging it out of the sheath just a touch before re-seating it with a satisfying 'clack'. "I just imagined a high-pressure water cutter, or maybe somewhere along the way it morphed into a sandblaster? Using the mana particles in the attack to strip away matter from the enemy, including magic resistance, by concentrating a great deal of cutting… and piercing power in a small surface area."
Magical erosion was something that came to the Goddess of the Forge's mind as she visualized just what the attack actually was when it wasn't concealed under a false visual fire.
Hephaestus felt a small sigh escape her lips as she wrapped her arms around her Bell-kun's neck and squeezed him tightly. "I think she'll love it far more than she'll ever let on."
The teen snorted as he returned the hug in kind, "As long as she uses it to keep herself alive then I could care less about all of that."
He flinched as she pinched his earlobe, her tone mocking, "It isn't good to lie, Bell-kun, not to me nor to yourself."
The white-haired Adventurer sighed and buried his face into the crook of her neck, " Fine. I really want her to like it. I want her to see just how much we care about her, and that we love her and want her to come back alive. Happy?"
There was no deceit in his words, his desire to see his Tsubaki-nee return home safely ringing true.
Hephaestus smiled as she released her favored Child from her embrace and ruffled his hair, "Yes, very much so. Now, don't you have something you need to be doing?"
He sighed and carded his fingers through his hair and did his best to fix his hair before he remembered that he kept his hair short for a reason, "Of course I do, Kami-sama, I'm always kept busy. I'm just waiting on the last piece of this whole puzzle to arrive before the grand unveiling."
Hephaestus blinked, "There is still something left to be done?"
The young man's expression went flat. "The cobbler that Aiz had decided to send her boots to had a backlog and waiting list as long as my arm. So I'm still waiting on the boots to arrive for her greaves…"
Ah, that was always fun- waiting on someone else to handle their end so the job could be completed. "That, my dear Bell-kun, is a problem as old as time, and not one relegated to smiths either."
A knock at the door to Hephaestus' office caught both of their attentions and the Goddess spoke out, "Yes?"
"Hephaestus-sama," Helena began before pushing open the door, "Is Bell-kun in there with you-? Oh, perfect timing. I just wanted to inform you that an apprentice from Zeimor August has arrived at the front gate with the boots you need to complete Aiz Wallenstein-san's armor."
Bell chuckled as he waved at her, a thankful smile on his face, "Excellent, thank you Helena-san. I'll be right there to collect it then!"
Her white-haired Child gave the Goddess one last hug before walking towards the door, "Thank you again for your help with this Kami-sama, I'm off to finish this job!"
The door shut behind him with a soft click and the Goddess scrubbed at her red hair with a gloved hand.
This Child…
Special thanks to Lmc9389, Artillery, AuraofCalm, Mioismoe, D. Wongsonegoro, Darkarma, Acrimonius, T. Balewood, Randall Randall, Dominyx Black, CyberCrisis, Blue, Russ Stilter, Legion_13, Mike Fatal_Bullet, P. Nguyen, J. Ricardo Passos, K. Weierbach, R. Alderman, A P, Arrorn, Empty Shelf, PbookR, Mortaegus, Nevets309, and Jake95044 for being Patrons!
You guys rock!
A/N: I couldn't find a good picture of just Zangetsu, so I left it out because… does such a blade even need an introduction? I enjoyed writing out that scene if only because it fit's my rendition of Chuu-Baki to a 'T', and BellSI giving her a wonderful weapon that not only fits her preferences as a sword but also is quite a powerful weapon with an Enchantment that would be worthy of rivaling the most powerful Magic Swords? Yeah, it fit.
I was doing great the past few days while writing this, but my enthusiasm cratered at the very end, so instead of dragging this chapter out a few more days I'll just be putting the reveal in with the next Interlude chapter. I'm thinking Riveria Ljos Alf and Tsubaki for the next one as Aiz is pretty much a flat character to try and write; she would be impressed by the armor and the attention to detail, but it wouldn't be as visceral as if the reveal was done in front of the eyes of someone else more experienced. As for Tsubaki we need to see some of her training in action before we get into the meat and potatoes of the whole arc.
Hope you all enjoyed it!
Interlude - Riveria Ljos Alf
[Riveria Ljos Alf]
"Are you prepared to leave, Aiz-chan?" The elf Princess murmured softly as she finished brushing the young woman's blonde hair.
"Mhmm," Aiz Wallenstein hummed as she stared at her reflection in the mirror, her golden eyes were slightly narrowed in concentration as the girl no doubt wondered what she would be seeing in just a short while. There was a cute little pout on her lips, a mainstay that Riveria had the pleasure of seeing a great many times since she took over Loki's duties in tending to Aiz all those years ago.
The Level 5 mage felt a happy sigh escape her lips as she sat the horsehair brush onto the table on which the large mirror sat. Though Aiz was almost a woman fully grown the elf couldn't help but feel her breast grow warm as her thoughts drifted back to days long past when the vaunted Sword Princess was just a child.
Spoiler: Halcyon Days
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"Go away, you old lady!"
Riveria felt her spine twinge as a ghost of a remembrance drifted to the surface of her mind from a place that she had long since thought repressed.
Riveria Ljos Alf was less than a hundred years old, quite young for a High Elf, and being called 'old' was as much a sore spot for her as it was for other women who were yet in their primes. Though… perhaps tying Adamantium ingots to Aiz's feet and tossing her into a pond in the name of 'swimming lessons' was a bridge too far?
She felt her cheeks grow hot with shame as she remembered the girl floundering desperately to keep her head above water. To this very day, poor Aiz had a fear of any body of water that was deeper than her waist, her young charge choosing to stay on the beach the few times the familia managed to salvage enough funds from Loki's alcohol budget to take a few days to rest on the beaches of Melen.
The princess bit the inside of her cheek as Aiz stood up and brushed down the back of her skirt; this was no time to be wallowing in past failures, and she focused her attention on the young woman who was about to experience something that very few Adventurers got to have the privilege of in their lifetimes.
Spoiler: Aiz
[img: https/static.wikia./dungeon-ni-deai-o-motomeru/images/7/72/Right_Light_Rise_Cover.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/1000?cb=20180715235800]
In just a short while Aiz Wallenstein was going to have a hand-crafted set of armor from arguably one of the most talented young smiths seen in a generation- probably two generations if she was being generous. Riveria, being an Executive of the Loki familia, had often been tasked with carrying the purse whenever the logisticians went down to the Guild shops to purchase all of the weapons that they could get their hands on that bore the young smith's mark; as much as Loki liked to gripe about the Bell Winter's philandering ways, the boy knew his way around steel, and that was an undeniable fact. His weapons were hearty and durable, and if they were properly cared for then they would last an exceedingly long time as long as whoever was wielding them stuck to the Floors their chosen weapon was rated for.
Truth be told the familia's armory was quite flush with weapons fashioned by the young Smith Prince, Bell Cranel, and they had far more swords than they did low Ranking Adventurers to use them; the few remaining swords that they had left over from the Goibnu familia were now relegated to training weapons for the newest of the new, their edges now dulled and consigned to be used until they broke. Perhaps it was a touch uncharitable for the Loki familia to purchase up his blades whenever they were available, especially considering she knew that the boy fashioned these weapons to be affordable for all walks of life… but as Loki said "if the Guild ain't gonna stop us from buyin' 'em all up, then why shouldn't we?'
Now if only their Goddess would be more forthcoming in giving the young man more recognition- it was uncouth to try and purchase his every work only to turn around and disparage him to his face whenever they crossed paths!
Aiz looked herself over in the mirror for a few moments before she reached up and clapped her hands on her cheeks, the most adorable look of determination settling onto her features; it was almost as if the young woman was trying to stoke her fighting spirits to face a Goliath and not merely try on her new armor.
Yes, Riveria decided that her little Aiz-chan's antics were quite cute; they were lucky that Loki was sitting down on a couch in the lobby waiting for them to come down- the irate Goddess was no doubt spitting like an angry cat at everyone that tried to talk her down. Had she been here she would have been beside herself, unable to decide on whether or not to fawn over just 'how amazing her Aiz-tan was' or curse the 'little white runt to the deepest pits of hell for catching her precious Aiz-tan's attentions'.
A small puff of air escaped Aiz's nostrils as her hands clenched into fists and she pumped them up and down in front of her.
"Come now, Aiz-chan, I do believe we've dawdled long enough," Riveria stepped to the side and picked up her staff, Magna Alfs, from where it was resting against the wall and she tapped the metal endcap gently against the wooden floor underneath their feet. The elf stepped to the side and gestured toward the door, "Shall we?"
Aiz nodded with all of the seriousness of a heart attack as they swept gracefully out of Riveria's personal quarters and strode down the hallway of the Executive floor where all senior members of high rank in the familia lived in dormitory-styled rooms- though in her personal opinion they would be classified as small apartments had they a kitchen and bathroom attached. As they passed by the entrance to the women's bathroom Tiona skipped out and latched onto Aiz's right arm while Tione followed her sister out more languidly; while she didn't glue herself to the blonde as Tiona did, the older sister still stood quite close to her.
Tione jabbered on excitedly as they made their way down the spiral staircase inside the tower that connected the Executive floor to the rest of the Twilight Manor, and once they made it to the bottom the quartet of women gave the familia member at the bottom who was guarding the solid adamantium gate a polite nod; ah- it was Anakitty, the poor dear was likely quite saddened that her duty day corresponded with the unveiling of Aiz's new armor. The young catkin was quite a fashionista, and she no doubt would have loved to be at the very front when the boy showed off his creation to all in attendance.
Riveria gave the young woman a soft, commiserating smile, and Anakitty shakily returned it.
There wasn't too much further to go as they only needed to make their way towards the primary dining hall- the smith had decided that instead of holding the unveiling of Aiz's new armor in a dusty room in the Hephaestus compound they would hold it at the Loki familia's residence instead. While everyone else didn't think too much of it, Riveria, Finn, and Gareth all saw it for what it was- a peace offering to their perpetually irate Goddess.
Loki also knew it, but instead of commenting on it- as it was tradition for such things to be done in the workshop of the smith that created it- the Goddess of Mischief had instead decided to focus her familia's considerable might on cleaning the Great Hall and turning it into something befitting the unveiling of Aiz Wallenstein's new armor.
Last Riveria had seen it the floors had been swept and mopped, the tables not needed for the showcase had been removed and placed in the storehouses near the training yard, and even the great stained glass windows that had for years been left to collect dust had been cleaned and polished with absolute care- both inside and out!
Riveria heard the excited murmurs of the dozens of Loki familia members that didn't have duty this day well before she saw them, and as they rounded the corner of the corridor their jubilant faces were revealed to her. A pleased smile tugged at her lips, and a quick sweep of the main hall showed that their Captain, Finn Deimne, was quite happy with the results as well; while such an event would normally be private there was no denying that this would be an excellent motivational tool for the younger of their ranks.
If they too learned to excel and rise up through the ranks then one day an event like this just might be in their future- recognition from the familia and perhaps a fancy weapon or set of armor from a recognized smith to go along with it.
" Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee~" Tiona squealed as she squeezed Aiz firmly, "It's finally happening! I'm so happy for you, Aiz-chan! Ow! Owowowowow-"
Riveria schooled her features as Tione, ever the more serious of the Amazon siblings, reached over and grabbed onto Tiona's cheek with her hand and pinched her, "Tiona, that's enough. Try to think about Aiz-chan's reputation, please?"
The whispers of the room quieted as the quarter finally entered the room, everyone's attention being sapped away from the makeshift stage in the center of the Great Hall. While their familia members, along with more than a few smiths from the Hephaestus familia, all saw fit to drink in their arrival Riveria was keen to view the objects on display.
There were three of them, two of which appeared to be mannequins that were covered with large white drapes, and the third was a stone podium that had an ornately carved wooden case sitting on top. Riveria blinked. Had the boy created for Aiz weapons as well? Considering the smith in question's desire to do things right the first time it was a foregone conclusion that any armor he created for someone as auspicious as Aiz Wallenstein would also likely have a weapon to accompany it; not that Riveria didn't believe the boy himself was lesser when compared to their familia's Sword Princess, but the few times she met him didn't appear to be one to do things by halves.
"AH! AIZ-TAN! YOU'RE FINALLY HERE!" Their Goddess roared out from the back of the Great Hall, the woman shoving her way through the crowd as quickly as she could, "Uuuuuooooooaaaaaahhhhhhhhh! Let's get this show on the road!"
Riveria felt her eyes crinkle in amusement as she looked over at the Hephaestus contingent in the room, her verdant eyes observing the Goddess of the Forge hiding her chuckles behind her hand while the white-haired boy shook his head in exasperation. She caught sight of Tsubaki Collebrand, the Captain of the Hephaestus familia that she had gotten to know a little bit better over the past few weeks as they coordinated with Vornir Landrock to take an extended journey into the Dungeon. The surprise that Gareth had an older cousin, one who had spent plenty of years in Orario during the heyday of the Zeus and Hera familias had been quite the surprise, but that was something she could ruminate over at a later time.
Speaking of Vornir One-Eye, she gave the dwarf smith and former Hephaestus familia Captain a shallow bow of the head, one which he returned albeit with a bit more joviality. She hoped that his attitude would help balance out the negativity that was sure to come when the Gulliver Brothers, Freya's four Pallum team of Level 4s, joined them; while Finn didn't have an issue with the younger men, they seemed to have an issue with him, but they were quick to lock up their grievances considering they were essentially guests in the upcoming training expedition.
Riveria found her place next to Finn and Gareth promptly, and once everyone was starting to settle a single clap reverberated throughout the Great Hall, and Bell Cranel strode towards the center of the room- the young man hopping up onto the stage with little effort. "Now, everyone, I am thankful that you all could attend today to see the unveiling of what has been an incredibly long journey for me- not only as a young smith learning his trade but as a person as well."
The young man wore black slacks with black leather shoes, a brown leather belt, and a plain long-sleeved button-up shirt that had the sleeves rolled up crisply to his elbows. He was unadorned by any form of jewelry barring the elkhorn necklace that if- word on the rumor mill was to be believed- was a promise of betrothal to many young ladies. His hair was cropped closely on the sides while the hair on top was just long enough for him to messily style in a fashion that screamed "someone spent twenty minutes artfully trying to make it look as if I have bed head".
Overall his appearance was understated and plain, not wanting to draw attention from the works he was about to display, and Riveria found that she approved, though he would do well to remember that this event was as much a celebration of his efforts as much as it was about Aiz receiving her new armor and possibly weapons.
"This journey started years ago as a younger, less wise me spoke openly that I felt Aiz Wallenstein's armor was impractical," A small smile pulled at his lips as his ruby red eyes surveyed the crowd, "Little did I know that I had thrown down a gauntlet that would culminate in a many years long endeavor to gain the skills necessary to prove that my ass could indeed cash the checks that my mouth wrote."
There was a chuckle from the members of the crowd as he utilized a little humor to hold on to their attention. "A few years ago Aiz Wallenstein, along with Goddess Loki, had stopped by my familia's forge during the showing of my first Insert forged weapon, and as a freshly promoted Level 4 she tested my weapon and found it… 'good'."
A rueful smile tugged at his lips and he clasped his hands behind his back, "While I'm not normally a prideful person, that comment of hers really got to me. While it was my first work with my Blacksmith Developmental Ability- and trust me when I say that even back then I had no delusions that my blade would come out as a stellar work of art… her comment latched onto the back of my mind. It was always prevalent, and it egged me on to prove that for someone of Aiz Wallenstein's esteem my work could one day become exemplary."
His eyes crinkled, "Maybe even 'Very Good'."
Riveria watched as pink dusted Aiz's cheeks as they puffed up in a pout, the young woman no doubt embarrassed by the retelling of such an event; she had done a lot of growing up over the past few years, and Aiz was far more conscious of how her words could be interpreted by others. While Riveria hadn't been there, she no doubt believed that the girl had thought her words were a genuine compliment and not a slight.
"So when she asked me to make armor for her I knew that I would have to dig deep and step outside of my comfort zone of making solely blades to accomplish this task," He turned his head and nodded appreciatively towards his familia members, raising his hand towards them with an open palm, "Thankfully, my familia members were gracious enough to entertain my desires, often times allowing me to pick their brains at all times of the day whether they were busy or not."
Bell's eyes turned towards Trisha Gothold and Goddess Archne or the Arachne familia, "And others were also willing to give me a chance to learn things the right way as well."
The seamstress and her Goddess nodded as the young man continued, "So finally, after many years of training, hard work, and countless hours of preparation I was ready to begin my task. To build not just armor, but a whole set that was comfortable, durable, and fashionable. Something that would become the mainstay of a young woman who is and will continue to be an icon of our fair city's Adventuring community… and I think that I've accomplished just that."
"Ladies and gentlemen, without further adieu," Bell stepped back and to the side before grasping the edge of the white drape, "I present to you the 'Wallenstein Lily' set."
He tugged the cloth off and revealed to everyone in attendance a mannequin that was adorned with a set of armor that wouldn't look out of place on one of the covers of the romance novellas that Riveria took guilty pleasure in reading.
Only from time to time, of course.
Spoiler: Lily Pattern Armor
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The predominant theme was black and white, and Riveria was surprised to see that the mannequin was posed in a swordsman's stance, an arm posed off the side as if wielding a blade. The armor certainly looked formidable, and the pearlescent white shine contrasted beautifully with the light grey tones of the armor's metal. The cuirass covered her chest, abdomen, and back with small shoulder pauldrons, and elbow-length gauntlets that appeared to be fully articulated with segments that protected the elbows themselves.
"-the suit begins with this, a simple body suit, but one that is quite important to the overall function of the armor. It is fashioned from Skull Sheep wool and double layered, with the two layers held together with a durable quilt stitching that-"
Bell continued to speak as he walked around the armor on display, the young man reaching down to grasp the black lace edge of the dress which stopped mid-calf so that he could lift it up to show off the armored greaves with segmented plating that protected her knees. "-then over the top of the body suit goes a fine chainmail jumper. It is double-layered as well, with long sleeves that terminate at the wrist and leggings that stop just behind the segmented knee armor of the greaves. The interior of this jumper is quilted with thick cotton and has been enchanted to redistribute kinetic impacts across the entirety of the armor-"
Riveria felt herself wince internally as some of the people in the crowd zoned out a little bit, choosing to instead enjoy drinking in the sight of the armor instead of listening to him speak; more than a few in the crowd weren't the best educated, so a lot of his explanations were going right over their heads.
"-and finally we have the armor plates themselves, all of which were fashioned out of a proprietary Damascus/Light Metal Alloy that was forged with Glideosaur bones to give them excellent durability as well as keeping the entire set as light as possible," He let the hem of the dress fall as he stepped to the side so that he was out of the way of some of the people viewing, "All of this has been enchanted to self-repair to a certain degree, including the armor and clothing, with the simple application of Mind. The Arachne familia was also kind enough to treat this with Frog Shooter oil so that water, blood, dust, dirt, and mud should simply slip right off of it."
He took a deep breath and rubbed his hands together, "However, that is not all. Armor such as this should have a weapon, or in this case, weapons, to accompany it."
The white-haired boy strode to the left and cracked open the wooden case and pulled out a rapier, if the hilt was any indication, and drew it from its simple brown leather sheath. "This is one of the many weapons that I've created for Aiz-san-"
It was solidly built for a class of weapon that was designed to be lithe, but despite the extra thickness of the weapon, there was no denying that it was indeed a rapier. He gave the sword a few flourishes before holding it a finger's length in front of the small basket handguard on the blade to show off its balance point; Riveria wasn't an expert on rapiers, but she knew that the closer the balance was towards the handle the better as the weapon was meant to be maneuvered around the hand, and while it wasn't exactly at the basket it was very close.
He sheathed the weapon and placed it back in the case, "The 'Legion' is a sword that I believe will serve Aiz-san's purposes quite well, but these blades aren't the true companion piece…"
The young man grabbed the next weapon in the case and began pulling it out before stopping, a mock epiphany sliding across his face as he placed the half-revealed weapon back into the box. "However… before we get to that, I do believe that we are all quite eager to see just how well the armor fits first."
There were a few shouts and jeers from the crowd, as there wasn't a person among them that didn't want to see the new blade- Riveria included herself among their number but she had the decorum to not voice her displeasure so brazenly.
Loki was more than enough in that regard, "Aaaahhhhh shut yer yaps! I can wait to see the damn sword, I wanna see my Aiz-tan in that armor!"
Even though he tried to hide his face as he walked around the backside of the mannequin the elf Princess was able to spot his pleased grin; to make the Loki familia's obstinate Goddess change her tune so quickly was quite a feat, especially when she had been so against the boy for many years now.
Riveria felt her eyebrows arch up as a few quiet clicks filled the air and the mannequin shrank a great deal, easily allowing the boy to slip the armor set off of it by its feet; with the entire set held over his left arm he picked up the armored greaves with his right hand and presented it to Aiz. The young woman strode forward and hopped onto the stage to take them from him, and he leaned forward whispering into her ear; his words were quiet, but with her sensitive hearing she was more than able to catch his words. "We prepared the side room for you to change in, Aiz-san. My Tsubaki-nee knows how to put the set on and she'll guide you through the process."
Taking that as her cue Riveria slipped into the back of the crowd and made her way around towards the storeroom, and she could see that she wasn't the only one who had the same idea as Tiona, Tione, Loki-sama, and her student Lefiya Viridis all made a beeline.
Once the door had been shut securely behind them Tsubaki Collebrand led Aiz to a folding wooden screen and began to instruct her.
"-take it all off, you're going to not want anything between you and body suit. Once you have the suit on you put your stockings on over the top of it."
"- that's right. Now slip into the chainmail romper and turn around so I can secure it shut in the back. Yes, I know, 'romper' is pretty silly for a name, but that's what he calls it."
"Now for the dress, it goes on over the top. Make sure you cinch the sleeves on the chainmail tight using the leather cord- you don't want it to bunch up."
"- cuirass and pauldrons are a single piece that is bound together at the bottom with these thin leather buckles. The leather is treated and can hold up with the rest of the armor, same with the buckles so you don't have to worry about it breaking on you… unless you're fighting something that can actually damage your armor."
"Next up are the greaves… then we'll put the gauntlets on; you should be able to secure everything tightly yourself, but for right now I'll be assisting you."
"Finally, the last piece in this little ensemble…"
Riveria's sensitive ears followed along the entire process, from the rustling of cloth, the cascading sounds of metal from the padded chainmail, to the clinking of the armored cuirass and greaves. The last part was a slip of what sounded like silk, and with that, the dark-skinned half-dwarf stepped back into view with her hands on her hips and a pleased smile on her lips. "Well, I can certainly say that my little Bell-kichi has taste. It fits you perfectly, Aiz Wallenstein."
Throughout the whole process, Loki-sama was beside herself- a complete bundle of nervous energy and excitement; the Goddess twisting and fidgeting in place like a child that couldn't decide if they needed to go to the bathroom or not. "Come on, come on, come on. Hurrrrryyy uuupppp aaalllllrrreeeadddddyyyyy~"
With the Goddess' incessant whining the smith smirked and stepped in front of the divider and grasped the edge of it before pulling it back and revealing Aiz Wallenstein's new armor to everyone in the room.
Spoiler: Aiz Lily
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Riveria felt her eyes widen as she took in the sight- it was exactly as she had imagined it would be, or at least it was what she had envisioned for Aiz when the young man promised to deliver a stylish, cute, and yet practical armor for her to wear. The black, white, and silver color scheme invoked a multitude of thoughts- competent, serious, regal, and yet innocent and pure. It fit Aiz's moniker of Sword Princess quite nicely, and now that she was looking at it the black silk ribbon that held the young blonde's hair up in a mild ponytail certainly added to the allure.
Aiz herself was less concerned about the look as she strode around the room a few times, twisting her arms and torso too and fro to test the comfort and fit. She squatted a few times, performing lunges, and then at the very end, she bounced from foot to foot.
"Everything feels comfortable-" The blonde began, her golden eyes turning towards Tsubaki, but Loki-sama, being the incorrigible woman that she was, lept at Aiz with her arms outstretched with a battle cry on her lips.
" Uuuuoooooaaaaaahhh!!!! Aiz-tan! You're so cute! Let me hug you- hrk!"
Riveria couldn't fight the chuckle that escaped her lips as Aiz reached out on reflex, her armored right hand reaching out and grasping onto Loki-sama's face. "No."
The Goddess squirmed a few times, her arms outstretched as she made grabby hands, but when the message had finally sunk in she slumped to her knees and Aiz released her; Loki-sama had thrown herself with no small amount of force, as when she impacted the girl's outstretched hand she mashed her lips and bloodied her nose. "Not even a little bit?"
Aiz walked right by their Goddess as she moved towards the door, the blonde only pausing when she came across the full-length mirror. She blinked and looked herself over with a careful eye, turning around so that she could see the back.
"Well? What do you think of my Bell-kichi's hard work, Aiz-chan?" The half-dwarf smith walked over with a cheeky grin on her lips. She sounded inordinately pleased by the outcome, not that she didn't have any right to be- the armor was impeccable in its form and its function as far as Riveria was able to tell; Gareth would probably have a few things to say about it as the dwarf had once been a smith himself before he exchanged his smithing hammer for a warhammer.
Out of the corner of her eye she caught sight of Tiona's starry-eyed expression, her hands covering her mouth as she bounced in place with a squeal barely escaping her fingers. Tione was more placid, the Amazon carefully examining the armor with a critical eye as she did her best to ignore her sister's squirming and babbling.
Poor Lefiya was hiding her face with her hands, acting as if she wasn't worthy to gaze upon her idol.
Riveria felt her lips curl. Quite adorable.
Aiz's golden eyes dropped down to her gauntleted hands and a small blush dusted her cheeks. "It is functional… and… it is cute."
"Mahahaha! You're damn right it is!" Tsubaki bellowed as she slapped the girl's pauldron, "Now I think it's high time we finish this little event on out, don't you? We still have a sword to see."
With those words, the young woman firmed up, and when she strode out the Great Hall was filled with a chorus of cheers and whistles.
While the rest of the familia didn't have the same feverish devotion towards Aiz-chan as their Goddess did, they were still all quite excited to see her wearing her new armor. Well, all except Raul Nord- the young man was barely hiding his wince as he watched Aiz stride confidently up towards the makeshift stage where Bell waited for her with a pleased smile on his face.
"It looks great, Aiz-san, exactly how I thought it would," The young man rubbed at the side of his nose with his thumb before clearing his throat, "While the Legion series of my rapiers were meant to be used and abused, both in the dungeon and for training, an armor like Lily-Pattern requires a blade that can stand beside it as a companion piece, and for that reason, I created this…"
He popped the case back open and pulled out a rapier that had a much more ornate sheath that stood out quite a bit in comparison- his weapons and even the Lily armor itself, while certainly outstanding pieces, were far less ostentatious; they were more understated and subdued compared to what he held in his hands. The sheath was a collage of royal blue, and gold, with pristine silvery-white stripes that created an eye-catching pattern; the endcaps looked to be gold, but having been an adventurer for a long enough time Riveria was easily able to discern that they were instead adamantium.
Spoiler: Avalon
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The sheath was fairly thin, barely thicker than the blade itself, but considering the overall quality of the pieces, he had been displaying to think that this would be any less durable than the others would be foolhardy.
He pulled the sword out Riveria smiled at the slight widening of Aiz's eyes, her lips parted in a small 'o' that was quite a rare sight; there were far too few instances in which Aiz's sense of wonder was brought forth in such a fashion.
Spoiler: Determined
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The sword itself was most definitely a rapier in profile, if only a touch longer than others in its class, and the hilt of the weapon, which should have only been enough for a single hand, was long enough to be considered a hand and a half. The royal blues of the hilt contrasted with the golden half-basket handguard, and the blade itself was a beautiful cloudy alloy of white and grey with a fuller on either side running almost the full length; near the base of the weapon were two small bars of thin adamantium that had delicate scrollwork etched into its surface that narrowed down to a tapered point.
Bell held the blade in one hand, and curiously enough he held the sheath much like a second blade in his other hand, a small smirk on his lips. "Let me ask you a question, Aiz Wallenstein. Of the two pieces in my hands, the sword and the sheath, which one do you think is the more important of the two?"
Aiz's eyebrows scrunched up like a particularly confused puppy, and her golden eyes shifted between the sword and the sheath a few times before she looked up at him. "The… sheath?"
"I-indeed, you are correct," Bell's eyes widened in surprise for a moment before a small chuckle escaped his lips, the young man giving both of them a gentle flourish before settling down into a two-handed fighting sword stance. "I honestly didn't expect you to give that answer the first time."
Aiz's nose crinkled up as she sniffed daintily, "Obvious misdirection."
His chuckles turned into outright laughter as he left the stance and sheathed the sword, "I guess when you put it like that, putting in front of you two answers with one being the obvious choice then you would be right to think of deceit first."
A small sigh escaped his lips as he held the weapon out in front of him, his ruby red eyes trailing across the patterns on its lacquered surface. "Yes, this sheath is called 'Avalon', and while it is of Oathwood construction with adamantium endcaps- making it more than durable enough to be used as a weapon even against Level 6 monsters- the true beauty within this sheath is the enchantment that I placed upon it."
He ran his fingers across the wood, "It can absorb potions and then automatically distribute them to you when you are injured-"
Riveria felt her breath catch in her chest as murmurs spread through the room like wildfire; it appeared that the implications of such a thing were not lost on the others.
"- so if you are ever in a situation where you cannot manually draw a potion for yourself, as long as there are enough materials to use, then Avalon will continue to heal you as long as it is able."
Due to the inherent difficulty of learning magic, potions were the primary way of receiving medical care in Orario- there simply weren't enough people with the talent, willpower, or drive to learn healing spells for all of the injured… and even if there were it required a great deal of valis to procure the spellbooks and tools, and a patient teacher to teach them. Most of the spellcasters in Orario were either elves or the children of wealthy Adventurers or merchants who could afford to pay for such things, but considering the childish desire of most to fling around fireballs instead of tending to the sick and injured the number of support mages were far lower that of combat mages.
With that in mind, because of the low number of healers, the vast majority of Adventurers tended to their wounds with potions- they were effective and economical, but they were not without faults; the glass tubes utilized were quite fragile, and Riveria herself had seen more than a few occasions when someone was too injured to even pull out the potions they had on their person. An elixir, one of the most powerful healing potions in the world, was worthless when one's arms were too broken to access it.
So to have an enchanted item that could continuously heal without any direct action needed by the user?
"-there is a small white bar on the upside of the sheath, and it indicates the level of potions that are available for the sheath to use. You'll have to find some way to mark it out, depending on the potency and quantity of potions you pour into it, but I think that will be a simple enough thing for you to do. So long as your head isn't removed from your shoulders and you have the sheath filled with potions suitable to heal your ails then you should be able to outlast a great deal of damage."
He pulled out the blade and handed it over to Aiz hilt first, and the young woman grasped into it before testing her grip up and down its length. Due to the half basket handguard, there was a proper way to handle the sword, but with a small shift in grip, it was possible to still get a two-handed grip from the opposite side, ensuring that a clean strike could be made no matter the orientation of the weapon.
"-we chose a Nosteel/Valmarth alloy, which should give you the snappiness you need to utilize your spells. Your 'Ariel' series of wind spells are quite well known, and with that in mind I enchanted the sword to ease the casting of wind-based spells and amplify their output," A small smile tugged at his lips as he stood back to let Aiz give the blade a few test swings, "Also well known as how harsh your spells are on your weapons, so we placed the 'Durandal' attribute on it to provide that extra durability; while I'm confident that the weapon was constructed well enough to withstand even your harshest use case, considering this weapon is meant to last you a while I felt that the addition of the 'Durandal' attribute was warranted- no sense in not taking every precaution against premature failure, now is there?"
"Why?" Aiz spoke, her voice clearly heard over the shrieking of her swings ever-increasing power, "Why two swords?"
"Well, the answer to that is quite simple- to increase the difficulty of your training," He placed the sheath, Avalon, onto the case and drew out the Legion rapier, and he continued to speak as he drew off the sheath, "Damascus is very non-conductive, but that doesn't mean it cannot conduct Mind or be utilized for weapon based spells like your Ariel . It just means that it will be more difficult."
Bell held the sword out in front of him and channeled his Mind into it, and the weapon slowly began to glow with the telltale blue light of magic as his Mind slowly saturated the blade. "I cannot pretend to know how your Ariel spells work, but in any case learning how to carefully control your Mind will be nothing but a boon; because it doesn't transmit Mind very well it will train you by forcing you to use more mana for each spell, and it will also force you to be more careful and deliberate in how you weave the spell. If you are an instinctual user of your magic then you would naturally give little thought as to how you can squeeze every last drop out of the spells you cast- most instinctual magics are like that because you have a rough framework already in your mind and you throw power into it to make it all work."
He released his flow of mind and the glow began to slowly leave the weapon before it dissipated entirely, "I would know this because I purchased a Grimoire years ago and I am still learning how to fine-tune my Unique Spell to this very day. It is rather presumptuous of me to assume the same of you, but if you feel that your spells can be taken to the next level then training your power and control with sub-par catalysts like these blades will make using them all the more easier when utilizing Determined ."
Bell sheathed the blade and placed it back into the wooden case before he placed his fists on his hips and looked at the sword that Aiz was swinging about, "Afterall, Determined was designed with your spell casting in mind, but I also wanted it to be durable enough to handle whatever threats you might find in the Dungeon. To that end, however, I feel like it would be best to divide your time between the two weapons- to use Legion as a training weapon in and out of the Dungeon, and to only break out Determined when you need the extra lethality."
He clapped his hands, "Of course, that doesn't mean you don't train with Determined as well! However, I felt that she would be much better used as a weapon of last resort instead of the first."
Aiz channeled a small amount of her Mind into the sword she was holding and was quite surprised when a massive gale of wind erupted from the weapon, sheering winds swirling around the Main Hall and snuffing out candles and sending the tapestries hanging from the ceiling whipping. The surprise was evident on her face and she looked over at Bell with wide eyes, "Strong. I only used a little bit…"
His eyes crinkled as a polite but tight smile tugged at his cheeks, "Perhaps using your spells indoors isn't the for the best? Or anywhere there is something you don't want to be destroyed?"
Riveria seconded the young man's opinion, and Finn was quick to add in his two valis, "I would agree with Winters-kun here, perhaps not indoors?"
Aiz blinked, her head tilting to the side, "The training grounds… outside?"
A weak chuckle left her Pallum Captain's lips and he shook his head, "How about we save that training for in the Dungeon? Or maybe in the fields outside the city walls, hmmm?"
The young blonde's cheeks puffed out a little bit, but her pout was short-lived as she turned on her heel and grasped Avalon so that she could sheath Determined within it. Her eyes were drawn toward Bell as he slipped a belt through the loops on the Legion blade and handed it to her, and she slipped Avalon's sheath onto it as well before securing it around her waist- the Legion blade on her left side while Determined and Avalon was on her right.
Her face was placid but there was a definite hint of excitement and glee at the prospect of this new weapon and her new set of armor. "This is… very nice, Bell-kun. How… much?"
Instead of answering her question he reached into his back pocket and pulled out a small booklet with a leather cover and handed it over to her, "This was a passion project for me, but inside here you'll find an itemized list of all of the materials I used, the prices I paid for it, and while I didn't charge you for the labor- as this was me fulfilling a promise to you many years in the making- I couldn't in good conscious not pay the people who helped make this dream of mine a reality."
He crossed his arms over his chest and looked up at the ceiling, "Also included in there are the instructions for how to care for and maintain your armor and weapons; there are pictures that I drew out, but I'm not exactly an artist. Though if you have any questions then please don't hesitate to stop by the Hephaestus district- if I'm not available then there will be someone there who would be more than happy to help."
Aiz nodded and pulled the cuirass back so that she could slip the booklet but he held up a hand, "Oh, wait, here- I almost forgot about this."
He moved behind the pedestal that was holding up the weapon case and he pulled up a mesh vest that numerous pouches arrayed on the front and sides; thankfully the vest matched the color scheme of the armor or it would have looked quite gaudy. The young man held it open and Aiz slipped her arms through and he fastened it in the front, "These are pouches that can hold all sorts of things, from small drop items and monster cores to potions, maps, and pretty much whatever you can fit in them. It's not as durable as your armor, but if you're just farming then it should keep everything securely on your person without needing to clutter up your belt or place things in your pockets."
If Riveria didn't know any better she would say that he almost sounded as pleased with the vest as he did for the rest of the armor itself.
"So, after many years of waiting… I've finally followed through on my end of the promise," Bell Winters straightened his back as he held out his calloused hand, his voice confident and firm, "Let's say we make our relationship official?"
Riveria felt her heart thud. Was this…?
A brilliant blush tinged Aiz's cheeks as she looked down at the armor covering her body and the weapons strapped to her waist before her golden eyes rose up to meet Bell's own. She reached out and grabbed onto his hand before shaking it, "Yes, let's. We're official now."
There was a chorus of squeals from the crowd, but they were drowned out by the raucous laughter and clapping of the men and women surrounding the pair up on the stage.
Riveria's attention was dragged away from Aiz and Bell by the sound of flesh meeting stone, and she turned her head to see Loki collapsed onto her knees, the irate Goddess had never looked so… defeated before. Standing behind her was Tiona, the Amazon squirming from side to side as her splayed fingers hid her face ("Oh! Hee, hee! Bell-kun, you're such a charmer!"), and her sister gazed up at the pair with barely restrained wonder before her eyes darted over toward Finn. The familia Captain gave her a brittle smile before he reached down and grabbed Loki by her shoulders and began dragging her away.
Riveria felt her lips curl into a small frown as the Pallum used his Goddess as an easy excuse to run away from a conversation he would rather not have; there was a moment of visible anguish clearly on her features before she smoothed it away into an emotionless mask.
"So good… it looks so damn good! How!? Aiz-tan… you look so beautiful and yet you betray your Goddess? Whhhhhyyyyyyyyyyy~"
After watching the man run away Tione sighed deeply and turned her attention back to the stage, a renewed interest bubbling underneath the surface as she carefully regarded the young man waving to everyone in the crowd.
Riveria turned her attention back up to Aiz, content to let that little problem work itself out for the time being, though if Finn didn't address this soon then the elf Princess might have to force the issue; it wasn't proper to leave a fair maiden hanging on a whim, she would know- all of her romance novels showed her such.
Special thanks to Lmc9389, Artillery, AuraofCalm, Mioismoe, D. Wongsonegoro, Darkarma, Acrimonius, T. Balewood, Randall Randall, Dominyx Black, CyberCrisis, Blue, Russ Stilter, Legion_13, Mike Fatal_Bullet, P. Nguyen, J. Ricardo Passos, K. Weierbach, R. Alderman, A P, Arrorn, Empty Shelf, PbookR, Mortaegus, Nevets309, and Jake95044 for being Patrons!
You guys rock!
A/N: So this is now finished, thought I would put it out instead of making ya'll wait for me to write the Hephaestus/Tsubaki interlude. That one should be shorter seeing as there won't be as much to cover.
So, the armor and clothing are self-repairing to a certain extent, the chainmail portion is enchanted to distribute kinetic impacts (since reducing or outright negating is a much more involved enchantment), the boots are enchanted to stand on water, and Aiz now has the greatest super power of them all- pouches!
Chapter 10 - Departure
[Bell Winters]
To say that I'd been 'busy' in the two weeks since my unveiling of the 'Wallenstein Lily Set' would be a gross understatement. I'd been practically inundated with requests from High-Class Adventurers from various familias from all over Orario to design something exactly like or similar to what I'd made for the Sword Princess. As much as I would have wanted to sit down with some of them and listen to their requests I had to graciously refuse their requests for the time being because I had other 'pressing business' that I needed to take care of, like learning the ropes of being a Familia Captain from my Goddess and handling the other responsibilities in the forge.
As it sat right now I was for all intents and purposes a creative one-trick pony, and I hadn't even come up with Aiz's look on my own; I'd jacked someone else's hard work and simply made it my own with a more practical flair- something I had no problems doing, but as it was right now I was barely solvent in the creativity department… just one small misstep and I'd be in the opening stages of creative bankruptcy. The bar I'd set with the development of the Wallenstein Lily Set was incredibly high, and I'd be hard-pressed to match it even with my brain firing on all cylinders, let alone with the half-a-mind that I had currently available to me.
Between learning how the administrative apparatus of the Hephaestus familia worked, handling my duties in the forge, and building up a decent stockpile of enchanted items to put out on the open markets I barely had any time to practice my magic let alone give my ladies the proper amount of time and attention they deserved.
Even with my carefully regimented schedule, I'd been forced to drop my amount of time in the dungeon down to two six-hour excursions per week, and even then that time was dedicated to acting as the lifeline for Liliruca and Naza. Every other waking hour was dedicated to learning paperwork and pounding hot steel because now that my work was no longer obscure- my weapons being denoted simply with the stamp at the base of each of my swords- suddenly every piece of equipment I'd made was now a hot commodity.
Hell, even the facade nails that I'd made years ago, which had been languishing in a pot metal pail in one of the Hostess of Fertility's storage closets, were now collectors' items. Mia Grand even named a specialty dish after me, a heaping tower of food, where whoever could best the pile of culinary excellence would get one of the very first items that Bell Cranel ever made; I'd gone from being a name that only those in 'the know' knew about to being a celebrity in my own right.
This was sort of funny because you'd think that with Orario's Adventurer population being as low-ranked overall as it was if someone made it to Level 3 or Level 4 that it would be enough to put them on everyone's radar, but if you walked up to the layman on the street and asked them if they'd ever heard about Anakitty Autumn- one of the more recognizable and up-and-coming Level 4s of the Loki familia- they'd be more likely to ask you for more information on her.
Heh, well, not to sound arrogant or anything, but pretty much every Adventurer knew about the Smith Prince, though I still wasn't quite on the level as Aiz Wallenstein, and making her a beautiful set of armor and weapons that made her already stand-out appearance even more distinctive really put me on the forefront of the public consciousness.
Almost overnight, I went from being a small conversational piece for low-ranking Adventurers who were kind enough to put their newbies onto a 'good brand' for durable yet affordable gear to being on the lips of almost every civilian who knew who the Sword Princess was.
"Oh my gosh, have you seen the Sword Princess' new look!? She is just so cute! I wonder who made that little outfit for her?"
"You haven't heard? It was made by the Smith Prince, that up-and-comer in the Hephaestus familia. The little rabbit-looking boy!"
Ouch.
To be honest, it was as painful as it was gratifying. On one hand, people could recognize me on sight, but on the other hand, people could recognize me on sight. My days of being able to move about Orario without people stopping to point and stare were now dust in the wind, and I obviously must have done something to offend someone who could bend the cosmic wheel that is Karma because the rabbit comparisons were now flowing in like water.
I'd even seen a few wooden signs hanging in front of various shops that had a little cartoon-like bunny with a smithing hammer held between its paws and the words 'Smith Prince products proudly sold here' painted beneath them.
It's like these damn civilians had no idea how much their rush to capitalize on my newfound fame hurt me; a needle to the heart, it was.
Hephaestus, my own Goddess, the woman whom I'd pledged my eternal soul to for as long as she wished to hold it, was no safe harbor; if anything she seemed rather amused and quite delighted by my plight.
I never once took her for a sadist, but now I know that there is always more to the Divine than what you could just see on the surface.
Regardless, I suppose it was something of a relief that I was so busy since it meant that I didn't have time to think about just how my reputation was being savaged by those who sold all of the products I made. Shit, Tsubaki never had to deal with any of this crap, and she had a legitimate Chuuni-phase that should have haunted her like a specter!
A sigh escaped my lips as I put the finishing touches on the edge of one of the many, many long and short swords I'd made today, and all of my frustrations went along with it. These babies were no longer being sold in the Guild shop as I now had my own section in the familia's primary store, but they were still reasonably priced if a touch more expensive now that they weren't being sold almost at cost; there were some complaints but we had three new smiths enter the familia a last year that were now cutting their teeth on making 'Winters Pattern' blades. Other than the small cut that went into the familia coffers, the vast majority of the profits were now entering my pockets, and to say that the funds weren't sorely needed would be an understatement; with my dungeon time being cut down so severely in preparation for Tsubaki's impending training trip the mountain of valis I had was being impacted pretty severely. I was spending valis like water for materials, and while I could easily sustain my current levels for quite a while not ensuring your input at the very least matched your output was a surefire way to becoming broke.
A lot of that money was spent on the materials for Tsubaki's blade- Amphisbaena's Dragon Liver was an extraordinarily expensive drop item, and the mithril needed to forge it wasn't exactly cheap either- but a fair bit of that money went towards paying off Lenoa the Witch, Asfi al Andromeda, and Lord Miach; Lenoa's expertise was needed to create the nodachi's active effect, and all three of them were required to help me build and simplify the matrices for the 'Automagic Potion Dispersal' enchantments that were exemplified on the Avalon scabbard.
Despite how simple the enchantment appears on the surface, in actuality, it was a fair bit more complex to create.
It wasn't just creating an enchantment that could absorb a potion and then disburse its effects, but you had to have an in-depth knowledge of mortal physiology to create the matrix that would determine if there was an injury that needed to be healed in the first place; Miach-sama provided his expertise as a God of Healing along with some minor applications of his divinity (read: the barest of whiffs as to not break Ouranos' taboos) to create the spell thread that could make such determinations. That thread essentially took a 'snap shot' of the wearer when they first put on the ring to determine what was to be the 'baseline', and when it detected discrepancies such as wounds or poisonings, it would activate the secondary and tertiary threads that would disburse the healing potion or antidote. Then once the wearer was back to the 'beginning state' it would cease applying the effects of the potions.
All in all, six different spell threads had to be created, integrated, and then carefully pruned to be simple enough for my beginning Mystery rank of 'I' to create without additional outside assistance.
Creating the enchantment was a lot easier than optimizing it, and I burned through a lot of valis as well as manufacturing and seller's rights to pay for it all.
Lenoa and Asfi were allowed to create a certain volume of these enchantments to be sold by themselves, and we hashed out that Lenoa would sell to the more magically inclined clientele while Asfi would swing for the more fashion-oriented and 'high class' clientele; her profits would be much higher, as her items would be strictly fashioned from precious metals, but her volume of sales was restricted to compensate for it. Meanwhile, I had the low and middle-level markets as my playground, where I made my valis on volume sales with low-to-medium grade materials.
Miach being Miach, the God tried to talk his way out of any sort of deal because in his words I'd done 'more than enough' for him and his familia. His stockpiles of materials were always overflowing with the frequent expeditions, and his members were now powerful enough to push their familia up to number 29 in the rankings simply because his Children were able to gain valuable experience fighting side by side with the Hephaestus familia in the Dungeon. There had never been a time in the history of the Miach familia where they were more profitable or more powerful, and he seemed to solely lay that accomplishment at my feet.
Which was incredibly flattering, but when he put it like that it sort of pissed me off because he was inadvertently stepping on the hard work and determination of his Children; they all worked their asses off, not for their own personal gain, but because they believed in Miach and his charitable nature. It was due to their efforts that the Miach familia was able to set up a trio of new orphanages and six more soup kitchens within Daedalus Street; their newfound profitability was hardly my doing alone.
So I forced him to accept being the sole outside dealer of all medical-related products I'd produce in the future.
If someone wanted to buy an automagic potion ring (earring, necklace, what have you) then they would either purchase it from the Hephaestus familia shop, Lenoa, Asfi, or from the Blue Pharmacy and the Miach familia.
Now, this did place an onus on the Miach familia to stop him from just giving the rings away, but hey, once the rings were out of my hands then it was on them. Hopefully they'd learn to keep the rings under lock and key with anyone other than Lord Miach being the keyholder.
Speaking of the rings, I reached up around my neck and pulled off a necklace that had a number of the Automagic Potion rings dangling from it; a baker's dozen of polished High Steel ovals clinked together as I smiled. It took me ten minutes to enchant one, but that time was spent wisely as I- unlike Asfi- had plenty of experience dividing my attention; while she had to enter an almost meditative state to activate her DA, barely able to do more than have a conversation, I was able to pound steel or do paperwork while keeping the enchantment process going. It allowed me to multitask like a sonovabitch, and it was great.
A small chuckle escaped my lips as I dabbed at the sweat on my brow and performed a quick mental check over the thirteen rings dangling from my fingers; thirteen rings of enchanted High Steel would fetch me a quarter million valis a piece, and that was what I sold them to Miach for- I sold them at my little slice of the familia shop for 500,000 valis, and he sold his for just a little bit less at 490,000 valis. He undercut me only a little bit, but if someone wanted to buy one of these rings then chances were higher that I'd have more stock since I kept my inventory up to date while I handed him a bag of rings weekly. I could make thirty-ish a day depending on my workload, with one-third of my wares going to Miach's Blue Pharmacy while I kept the other two-thirds.
The gong out at the front of the forge rang once and I turned my head as a gruff feminine voice called out, "Oi! Bell-kun! Done with this batch!"
"Alright, thanks! Be right over!" I called out as I crossed over to the other side of my forge where a bundle of ten Damascus rectangular rods was bundled up with cord and I gave the other smiths sharing the space with me a crinkle-eyed smile as I hustled over to the front of the smithy. The cool mid-morning air kissed my sweaty, naked flesh as I rested the bundle next to the large reclined chair where a heavily pregnant Darlene sat; my Cheinthrope smith senpai was a Level 3 and due to her pregnancy she wasn't allowed to forge steel until after her delivery.
Though Darlene, much like my fellows in that she just couldn't sit still and knit, decided that helping me do something productive was right up her alley, and armed with a razor-sharp Adamantium whittling knife the dog-woman was damn near up to her knees in Songwood shavings. Seeing that my swords were so damn popular I realized there were additional opportunities to be had by capitalizing on my brand, and I used my connections with Lenoa to purchase bundles of the non-magically conductive cuttings from the Songwood trees that the fletchers of Orario purchased up for their arrows. With Darlene's skilled hands and eyes, she could whittle down a decently sized log into a near-perfect replica of my swords, using the larger logs for the long swords and the smaller ones for my short swords, and after boring a hole from the hilt to near the tip of the blade I slipped in a heavy Damascus rod.
A little bit of Mystery later, enhancing the durability of the wooden swords and getting their weight up to a perfect 1-to-1, and I had training swords available for purchase alongside my real steel; they were pretty hearty, as I was able to kill Killer Ants on the 7th Floor with one no problem. Despite being an eye-watering price at 75,000 valis due to the Songwood and the 'cost' of the enchantment, the familias who purchased my swords saw the value in the training blades, and they were snarfed up just as quickly; being able to actually train against one's fellows without worrying about clipping off limbs was invaluable, especially when the training aids perfectly matched the blades their Children were using. Even a thrifty familia could afford to purchase a pair of the wooden swords, as not every Divine had Children that could carefully watch over the spars and training of their more junior members.
With her steady hand and the sharp edge of the whittling knife, she could knock out ten of these training swords before lunch, and that was pretty damn easy money in both of our pockets.
We chatted amicably for a few minutes as I tapped the rods into the hilts of the blades and went through the process of enchanting them; I left the sanding and finishing of the training swords 'up to the discretion of the customer' and billed it as a way for them to personalize the unfinished swords to their liking, and even encouraged the different familias to paint, stain, or varnish their weapons to their tastes.
In reality, I just didn't want to have to waste time doing it myself.
Heh, turns out I can be lazy about some things after all.
Half an hour later I stood up with the bundle of training swords in tow and I slipped back into my forge to grab my completed blades before heading back out toward the familia offices; I stopped by the small lounge where all of the prospective apprentices bided their time and tasked one of them to clean my forge for me.
Heh, feels good to be on the opposite side of all of this hazing for once.
Now, now, don't give me that look young Shasta- if you get picked up then one day you too will get to make someone else do your scut work for you. Lol.
After taking a quick bath and changing into my more presentable clothes I knocked on the door to my Goddess' office with my Hammerspace-Bag-of-Holding on my shoulders.
"Enter."
I twisted the doorknob and pushed the door open just wide enough to admit myself, and I couldn't stop the warm feelings from bubbling in my chest as I saw Hephaestus' soft frown turn into a smile as she caught sight of me, "Ah, Bell-kun, all ready to go I see?"
"Of course, Kami-sama!" My grin was blinding.
Hell yeah, I was excited! For years I had to watch as my blades were handed out at bargain bin prices, and while I was happy to see that my Goddess had deemed my steel worthy of having the honor of being part of our obligations with the Guild, I finally had a whole section of the Hephaestus familia's store to myself! Granted, I could have probably pushed for my own little slice of blacksmith heaven earlier, but now that I was a recognized smith it would look far worse if I didn't have my own counter.
More to the point, it would be the first true break I'd had since I got back from the Dungeon almost a whole month ago; between making Aiz's armor, preparing to handle most of Tsubaki's duties while she was gone, and handling the needs of my business my day was chock full. So being able to head over to Babel Tower and sit behind the counter for my little section of the familia shop for half the day and just veg out while assisting customers who're interested in my wares sounded amazing right now.
Besides, while we had Level 1s who worked the counters as part of their training, this would be the first time since I got my shop that I'd work the counter myself.
I was finally getting in on part of the true Blacksmith experience that I'd been missing out on- the customer service portion!
"Oh? So eager to run away from," My Goddess raised her arms up and swept them over the piles of paperwork in an aggrandized fashion, a smirk on her lips, "All of this wonder so soon, Bell-kun?"
My lip curled reflexively. Just because as an NCO I was no stranger to stacks of paperwork didn't mean I liked it. "A-ah, Kami-sama. Even if I'm a Level 4 isn't all of this a bit much? I mean, aren't there a bunch of people that can help you and not just me?"
Her lone eye crinkled as she rested her elbows on the top of her desk and interlaced her fingers, the Goddess' chin lowering to rest on top, "Why, Bell-kun, didn't you know? Nearly half of all the paperwork I'm drowning in right now is because of you?"
That little admission caused my eyebrows to hike, "Me?"
"Mmm-hmm, yes. Between the architectural reports from Riveria, the sales reports to the Guild, and the requests from my fellow Divines looking to purchase whatever it is you have to offer… not to mention the tizzy you've got Tsubaki-chan up in… you've given me a lot of additional work," Her crinkled eye slowly opened up and I swore I could see hellfire dancing in it as her voice dropped from sweet and innocent into something far more menacing, "You better take responsibility."
Not one to let such a statement go unchallenged I put forth my very best retort.
Clenching my jaw, I forced my cheeks to flood with blood as I clasped my hands in front of my chest and started squirming in place, "T-take r-responsib-bility? A-ah… ano… I m-mean… if it's Kami-sama…"
A muffled cough escaped her lips as her composure crumpled and she turned her head away, her gloved hand coming up to cup over her mouth as her other hand waved me off, "J-just go, Bell-kun. Enjoy your time at the Forge Fire and be ready to work first thing in the morning; I'm saving this pile just for you."
"Of course, Kami-sama. I'll be here bright and early," I said after clearing my throat, and I let her office door shut behind me with a muffled 'click'.
Damn.
While my slip into true!Bell territory might have won me the battle it just cost me the war as my Goddess blindly retaliated with a salvo of 1 55mm Paperwork.
It was super effective.
If I'd just grinned and nodded she might have let me leave unhindered by the burdens knowing that my morning was going to be filled with ink stains and cramping fingers.
With a clap to my cheeks I forced myself to focus- let's go sell some shit!
"Wow! You're the Smith Prince!? You're so smol and cute! Oh my gosh, the girls just aren't going to believe it!"
"Hey, I saw the work you did with the Sword Princess' new get-up. What's it gonna cost me to get something like that?" The Amazon looked me up and down with a small smirk on her face.
With a tight smile I shook my head, "Unfortunately I'm not taking any other special orders right now, though when I do have enough time in my schedule to do so I will put out an announcement."
It was all I could do to keep my eyes locked onto her nose as she bent over and pressed her considerable bosom against the countertop, her glorious caramel titflesh was just so damn close to popping out of her bikini top, "Are you sure? Maybe we could come to an… arrangement of sorts?"
"Miss, I have seven betrothed…"
"Che~, stingy."
"So you're saying I just soak this steel ring in whatever potion I have overnight and it will heal me without me having to do anything?"
"Yes sir, that is indeed the case."
The customer's brow furrowed as he bit his lip, looking between the ring on display and the coin pouch held in his hand, "It's a little expensive…"
"It's an enchanted item, sir, forged by me and imbued with a very complex spell that stores a potion, monitors your health, and automatically distributes the potion if it detects that you're injured. You said you're a Level 2, yes? Then you know that in the Dungeon the monsters won't wait around politely while you try to pull a healing potion out of your pocket."
"Yeah, that's true; they aren't the most hospitable of creatures…"
Unggghhhh… Kami-sama, why did I ever think that this would be relaxing!?
I felt the tension leave my shoulders the moment Rutger, the Level 3 in charge of overseeing the shop today, closed the front doors. My slouch was very undignified but I found myself too exhausted to care.
It was probably worse for the other Level 1s who were working the other counters, but my reserves of pity were being hoarded for myself. A large hand gently patted my shoulder and I raised my head up to see the grizzled human smith give me a tight smile, "Good work today, laddie. You did well."
"Does it ever get easier, Rutger-senpai?"
I fought off a wince as I recognized the thousand-yard stare, his eyes turning glassy as they drifted off of me and to the wall. "No. It never does…"
A sigh escaped my lips as I slid off of my stool and grabbed my bag, leaving the man to struggle alone with the demons only he could see.
To think that I once used to look at the other Apprentices with envy as they got to get cleaned up to handle counter-duty at Babel while I was forced to shovel massive mounds of coal.
How blind I was…
A week passed in the blink of an eye- everything a haze of smithing, paperwork, and enchanting whatever I could get my hands on.
I could feel it. The gains for my Magic stat and Mystery DA were going to be beautiful, I just knew it. Compared to Asfi's small handful of enchantments per day I was belting them out left and right, coming up with new ideas and products that just sent my falna buzzing; the more I used Mystery the easier things got, and whenever I came up with something new I almost felt like the Developmental Ability was rewarding me for my efforts. I'd had the DA for only a short while now and I'd already gone through half of the pages in my little 'Book o' Ideas'; my stall would have been overflowing with more Enchanted items than swords if every enchanted item I put out didn't fly off the shelf the moment it was put up.
Affordable magical items that didn't cost millions of valis?
Sold.
After checking my familia account I'd found that I'd almost recovered everything I'd spent, and while I was never in any danger of dropping low on valis seeing all those zeroes back on my ledger was certainly a thing of beauty. I'd never understood why rich people wanted to keep their money up so badly until I had oodles of money myself, but now I could hardly stomach the thought of seeing my account dip below a Hundred Fifty Million. Granted, with the absurd costs of the materials I had to handle as part of a blacksmith and an enchanter that was probably the bare minimum amount of cushion I would need just in case I needed to make something special.
Like another Tensa Zangetsu…
Still, despite how busy I was, there was no getting around the ever-encroaching date of Tsubaki's training trip into the Dungeon, and much like Thanos it was inevitable.
In the courtyard of the Hephaestus Smithy, where I'd once returned home a triumphant hero just a scant few weeks ago, the entirety of the Hephaestus familia as well as ranking members of the Skadi, Loki, Inari, and Freya familia were all gathered to see off this rather historic occasion.
Not since the days of Zeus and Hera had any of the 'Big 5' familias ever had something like this put together; despite the pleasant demeanors of the five Divines in attendance there was no shortage of subtle backbiting and snipes, but since this event was being for their beloved Children everything was kept civil.
Mostly.
Today fifteen members from five rival familias would be setting out for a many months-long journey into the bowels of the Dungeon in order to hone their bodies and their minds, and it wouldn't be as foes but as comrades in arms.
The training expedition was billed as a cooperative event to the public to showcase the willingness of the Top 5 familias to build bonds of trust and friendship, and to showcase that while Zeus and Hera were no longer at the helm Orario was as safe as ever with their new leadership.
Being the most senior Level 5, Vornir Landrock, alias One-Eye, was heading up the expedition with Finn Deimne as his second- something that seemed to incense the Gulliver Brothers, but they held their tongues out of deference to the dwarf who painstakingly crafted their shiny new weapons and armor. Olena Harper, alias Soft Paw, was the ranking Level 5 from the Inari contingent, with Nadia, alias Silver Streak, being the ranking Level 5 from the Skadi familia. Each familia barring the Hephaestus and Freya familias had three Level 4s or 5s that would be attending, and it was sworn in front of their Goddesses that each member would fight as though they were one united familia while down in the Dungeon.
I couldn't stop myself from fidgeting as Freya finished with her little speech, though my eyes were firmly glued to Tsubaki's form standing second in the row next to Vornir.
I had once foolishly thought that I could sympathize with Tsubaki having overseen the training of Liliruca, Naza, Khemi, and Sooka, but standing in the crowd as they prepared to march down into the depths of the Dungeon filled me with such an unquenchable trepidation. Intellectually I knew that Tsubaki was as strong as she was capable, but knowing that she was going someplace that I couldn't follow just left me feeling… adrift. Like a boat on the ocean without a rudder.
There was this itch between my shoulder blades that made me yearn to pack my bags and tag along, but I had responsibilities and duties here.
I was dragged out of my musings as a slender pair of hands gently gripped my shoulders, and I looked behind me to see my Goddess' commiserating smile, "Well? What are you waiting for, Bell-kun? If you wait too long you'll miss your chance."
When had she…?
I blinked a few times and turned my head forward, and to my shock, everyone was getting ready to leave, the Adventurers clambering up onto the wagons as their familia members said their parting well wishes. Almost as if this had been planned, the sea of bodies blocking my sight of Tsubaki parted and Hephaestus-sama gave me a gentle push, a wan smile on her face.
It was strange just how small I felt as I approached the wagon. For once I felt my physical age as I clasped Tensa Zangetsu in front of me, and I found that I was suddenly as graceless as a newborn lamb with the way my feet seemed to barely carry me over to her.
It dawned on me why I was feeling so out of sorts the moment our eyes met, her crinkle-eyed smile slowly dropping into something more solemn as she swatted a few playful hands. The other smiths hounding her and Vornir seemed to vanish like mist in the morning sun the moment I approached. It reminded me of the faces of my friends and family when they came to see me off to war.
"Tsubaki-nee…"
My Tsubaki-nee was going to test herself. She was going to go down into the Dungeon not to watch over me, nor to test her weapons, or collect some resources on a milk run.
My Tsubaki-nee was going into the Dungeon to challenge herself. To push herself to her very limits and beyond… and that simple realization terrified me.
I don't know if she was as terrified as I was, but she still tried to put up a strong front- my big sister, the senpai I had come to love and adore- reached down and mussed up my hair. It was a simple gesture, but it was enough.
"What'cha got there, Bell-kichi?"
"It's a gift, Tsubaki-nee," I swallowed thickly as I took a deep breath and looked up at her, "And a promise."
Her confident smile grew brittle, no matter how she tried to salvage it, "A promise?"
"Yes, a promise that… no matter what happens down there, no matter how hard things get," It was a struggle to come up with the words; no matter how long I'd practiced this little prepared speech all of the confidence and bravado I'd longed to project failed to materialize, "That you'll come to me. To us. The both of you."
Turning my gaze onto Vornir seemed to firm me up, as did his words, " Our Goddess who walks this beautiful earth- lad! We're going on a little trip, we ain't marching to our deaths! So cut it with the theatrics!"
A small chuckle left my lips as his words pierced through my morose, and Tsubaki patted my head before snatching the sword from my hands. A satisfying 'clack' filled the air as she unsheathed the weapon and held it up in front of her, the half-dwarf inspecting the long curved blade with a critical eye, a murmur leaving her lips as she read the Far Eastern kanji etched near the hilt, "Tensa Zangetsu… huh?"
The tanned woman blinked before side-eyeing me, "Looks pretty good for your first Mithril work, Bell-kichi! Did Hephaestus-sama help you out with it?"
I couldn't stop myself from rolling my eyes as I shook my head, "I don't have my Mithril certification, so that one is a given, Tsubaki-nee. Anyway, be sure to read the documentation thoroughly, okay? I mean thoroughly- there is an activation phrase for the effect and it needs to be said correctly-"
As I talked Tsubaki used her other hand to unwind the scroll that had been wrapped around the hilt and her lone brown eye scanned over its contents, "The phrase? Ah, 'Getsuga Tensh-'"
My eyes widened in alarm as black and red miasma began to froth from the sword and I never snatched something so fast in my life, an admonishing hiss escaping my lips, "Nee-chan!"
I'd seen just how destructive the enchantment was after it'd only absorbed a single day's worth of ambient mana; I shudder to think just how destructive it would be after a few weeks of charging, even with a half-hearted, accidental activation!
She blinked and her cheeks colored a beautiful red as she chuckled weakly, "Ah, sorry about that… guess my nerves are getting the better of me. I sort of zoned out there for a moment while reading."
Vornir scrubbed at his cheek with his adamantium hammer hand as he gazed at the sword held in my grasp consideringly, "So you really did do it lad…"
With the sword-shaped WMD no longer in danger of 'sploding in the midst of a packed crowd of people I handed Tensa Zangetsu back to her and she sheathed the blade with a weak chuckle before rolling the scroll up and tucking it between her breasts. With the sword cradled in her lap the older woman leaned down and grasped the sides of my head and bent over to plant a gentle kiss on my forehead, "Thank you, Bell-kun. I'll be sure to study it properly, okay?"
My hands slipped over the top of hers and I squeezed them gently, "Good. I look forward to seeing you come back in one piece, Tsubaki."
The Level 5 smirked as she let go of me and leaned back, the woman throwing her arm over the backrest of the carriage while jerking her thumb at the quartet of Supporter Packs that I'd enchanted like my Hammerspace-Bag-of-Holding. One contained literally everything they would need for an extended stay in the Dungeon, complete with lots of expensive potions I'd purchased from Miach-sama; the other three bags could contain everything their wagon could hold several times over, "I think we have everything we need, so stop being such a worry wart. We'll be back before you know it."
I ended up staying behind even after the rest of the crowd had dissipated, and once again felt a pair of slender hands grasp onto my shoulders. I leaned back into the warm embrace of my Goddess and interlaced my fingers with hers as she wrapped her arms around my neck, "Does it ever get easier, Kami-sama?"
Hot breath escaped her nose and tickled my hair, and I didn't need to look behind me to feel her thousand-yard stare, "No. It never does…"
[Hours later on the 18th Floor]
"Getsuga…
TENSHO!!!
"
A towering crescent of malefic black and red mana surged from the powerful overhead strike across an unoccupied section of land in the Under Resort, the baleful energy eroding nearly a hundred meters of forest and leaving a meter-deep crevice; a hazy fog of scarlet and ebony wafted through the air in its wake before dissipating.
Silence reigned supreme as numerous Adventurers stood by to witness, and the silence was broken by the sound of an adamantium hammer hand making contact with a fleshy, boney forehead, "Bloody hell! Just what sort of monstrosity did you make, lad!?"
Meanwhile, Tsubaki looked at the Mithril blade in her hand in awe; she hadn't even used the thrust, and that 'beam' was supposed to be far more destructive!
A shaky breath left her lips as she assumed another stance and chambered her arm, the woman speaking the activation phrase before spearing the nodachi out with all of her might, " Getsuga… TENSHO!!! "
The beam was tight and controlled, no larger than her fist, and the sheer devastation it wrought was… humbling.
Tsubaki was torn between elation and shame as she stared down at the black sword held outstretched in her hand, though a small chuckle slipped from her lips as she stood up straight and sheathed the blade, her lone visible brown eye surveying the damage in front of her critically.
"Just one more thing to add to the list I suppose… I'll catch up to you, Bell-kichi… just you wait and see."
Special thanks to Lmc9389, Artillery, AuraofCalm, Mioismoe, D. Wongsonegoro, Darkarma, Acrimonius, T. Balewood, Randall Randall, Dominyx Black, CyberCrisis, Blue, Russ Stilter, Legion_13, Mike Fatal_Bullet, P. Nguyen, J. Ricardo Passos, K. Weierbach, R. Alderman, A P, Arrorn, Empty Shelf, PbookR, Mortaegus, Nevets309, Jake95044, Jackson R., G. Johnson, T. Dewitt, M. McGuire, DragonShark-Eater, Big-Tofu, Alexei A., Brandon B., David B., Grant L., Anti-Akuma, Cailk, Robert H., Jigawats, Joseph M. Teti, Konb, Stelliferous, A. McGregor, Jasticus, and C. Wiggins for being Patrons!
You guys rock!
A/N: So, ironically enough, I was just about finished with this chapter when the thread got locked for necro. Thanks to Rhyalys for enjoying the story! Just trying to get back into the swing of things here as I bounce around and try to keep myself writing so that I don't stall out. Hope this reads well as it didn't feel like my absolute best- couldn't sleep so I might as well do something constructive. lol
Chapter 11 - Waiting for Nee-Chan
[Bell Winters]
"Kami-sama."
"Hmmm?"
"I feel like I need to do something drastic."
The soft 'tick-tock' of the grandfather clock in Hephaestus' office was the only thing that could be heard once my Goddess stopped shuffling the papers in her hands around. She slowly raised her lone eye to me and arched an eyebrow, " Explain, if you would please, Bell-kun. You do drastic things all of the time and consider them commonplace- I shudder to think what you would consider to be 'drastic'."
I had a much smaller desk than her, but it was still wide enough to necessitate pushing the large couch in her office against the back wall so I wasn't forced to stare at a corner for much of my day. Said desk was covered with stacked piles of paper, with an 'Incoming' and 'Outgoing' tray taking up the right-hand corner; it was tidy, but still covered.
A blush crept up my neck but I coughed into my fist, "Well, uh, first thing's first I suppose. We need another secretary, probably two if we can get them; the amount of paperwork that is crossing your desk is a little bit crazy if I'm being honest. We're a large familia, but the number of things that actually require your attention is… not nearly this much."
Her lone red eye practically bored into my chest as she lazily rested her chin on the palm of her hand, "How do you mean?"
"Well, we have eighty-seven Active members, but only five clerks who are all retired members; the number of people we have handling the administration of the familia's operations is too small. We have the Adventurers, we have our smithing, we have our supply and logistics, we have our liaison for operations and taxes with the Guild, and that's just what we have here- we aren't even looking at the Forge Fire's administration; ultimately we are having too few doing too much," I reached down and grabbed a stack of sheets and began reading them aloud as I flipped through them, "- financial reports from the Guild, financial reports from the Forge Fire, inventory reports from all five warehouses, a menu for the coming week's meals at the cantine and the attached request to purchase ingredients… and so much more."
I arched my own eyebrow as I leaned back in my chair and gestured to the stack in my hand, "And this is only a quarter of what crosses your desk every day- all of it requesting your signature. I can understand wanting to be on top of the goings on in the familia- especially the financial reports, Kami-sama, but this is a bit much; you have a lot of other responsibilities that you have to take care of, mainly to your Children and the Prospective Apprentices you wish to train… and you can't do that effectively if you're spending your time looking over paperwork that really shouldn't even be touching your desk."
Hephaestus grunted lightly as she stretched her arms toward the ceiling before leaning back in her high-backed chair, her elbows bent to allow her arms to hang lazily over the top, "Tsubaki handles a fair amount of that before it reaches my desk; I just have to sign it, though you are correct in that we have a lot that requires my attention."
I couldn't stop the small smile from tugging at my lips at the rare sight of my Goddess lounging; she wasn't a prim and proper type of woman, but the number of times she relaxed enough to look like she was lazing about could be counted on one hand. Still, I hummed at her words, "Even still, a lot of this shouldn't be seen by either of you unless there is an audit or something, I mean, the menu for the cantine's meals for the week? That sort of stuff should be handled by a mid-level manager, not you or Tsubaki; that's basic admin stuff."
She looked at me for a few moments before she stood up and walked around her desk, her long strides taking her to the long couch where she sat down before kicking off her heeled boots and throwing her legs over the arm. My Goddess wasn't a Divine with either beauty or love as her domains, but I'll be damned if she didn't look like a work of art as she wriggled her bare toes, a sigh of contentment leaving her lips. I couldn't see much of her expression with her eyepatch covering half of her face but she hadn't shot me down yet, "It's the way we've always done things, Bell-kun but… I suppose I could take a break and hear out what you have to say."
"Well, I don't know if this is going to sound radical or not, but… I think we need to restructure the familia," I began as I shifted a pile of paperwork to grab my notebook and began flipping through the pages until I found what I was looking for, "As it sits right now we have you, the Goddess, and the Captain at the top, with the clerks we do have directly underneath the both of you and after that? We have nothing. Everyone else sort of just… does their own thing while waiting for that inevitable moment when either you, Tsubaki-nee, or Vornir-oji come to tell them that something needs to be done…"
After that, I began to verbally diarrhea at the mouth as I went down every bullet point I could think of.
"- have no direct chain of custody for any of our warehouses. I mean, we have inventory sheets, but whoever does the inventory is almost picked out of a hat and you have to ask around to find out who did it last-"
"- have no roster set up for the smelting warehouse; we just grab whoever is looking like they're not busy-"
"- we don't treat the Level 1s properly in my opinion; some don't get enough time in the forges, some don't get enough time in the Dungeon and feel like they aren't getting enough personal funds or aren't advancing enough for their liking, and I know for a fact I've seen poor Milhouse-kun in the shops working the counter like five days this week and that is not okay-"
"-not to mention the sheer disparity in work between the 'Home Team' and the Smiths that go out on Resource Collection and Intra-familia expeditions with the Miach familia every fortnight-"
"- and then we don't have any real accountability if something falls through because someone who was tasked to do something dropped the ball-."
"-and finally, Judith-dono has been working the kitchens in the cantine for almost two decades now, and she shouldn't have to get your written permission to buy every loaf of bread!"
"If I'm being frank, Kami-sama, I'm utterly flabbergasted at just how well our familia runs with all of this disorganization, let alone our businesses and other holdings; if you told me four years ago that you were the 5th Ranked familia in all of Orario with this being our gameplan I would have said you were crazy!"
I didn't realize how heated I'd gotten until I heard my Goddess' tinkling laughter, and I dragged my eyes away from my notebook to see her curled up on her side with her arms tucked under her head; her lone red eye was twinkling with mirth, and while I did my best to maintain eye contact I did make sure to enjoy the way her thick thighs strained her leather pants. I blinked my eyes a few times as she stretched out her legs and arms languidly before rolling onto her back and interlacing her fingers behind her neck, " Ara, ara~… why don't you tell me how you really feel, Bell-kun?"
My thumb and forefinger came up to pinch the bridge of my nose. "Sorry, Kami-sama."
I couldn't even truly enjoy hearing my Goddess' first ever 'ara ara' because the Hephaestus familia had taken the concept of 'Winging it' and made it a central pillar of their administrative apparatus… and while I wasn't the most carefully regimented NCO- especially for a Ranger- how this familia managed to function just blew my mind.
We sat there in silence for a minute or two before Hephaestus shifted on the couch cushions once more, the woman turning her body to me in such a fashion that it looked and felt way more intimate than it probably should. "So, do you have any suggestions, Bell-kun? Girls don't like it when boys complain but don't offer any solutions."
The teasing tone of her words caused my cheeks to flush but I held up my notebook and began thumbing through it again, "You want solutions? I got your solutions… rrriiiggghhhtttt here~"
It all starts with clearly delineating the Exploration and Home-stay groups within the familia.
Over the past few years my presence has inadvertently caused a rift to form within the familia- or at the very least it has unearthed what was already there. This might be a sweeping generalization, but from what I could see the familia was broken down into two camps- those that wanted to solely smith and those that were hungry for more, be it riches, glory, or simply that next Rank Up.
The 'Home' group did the bare minimum that was required by the familia by-laws and helped out whenever they were directly tasked to do something, but outside of that, they spent their time hanging around or working on their personal smithing projects for a client.
The 'new' Exploration group weren't merely content to hammer steel all day long, and they clamored for the thrill of the Dungeon, but either they weren't skilled enough to make it solo or they recognized that even for a Level 2, 3, or 4 delving down into the Dungeon alone or in small groups could turn very nasty; the majority of the Level 1s that wanted their Blacksmithing Developmental Ability fell into the camp as a consequence. Through the powers of observation, the more senior smiths of this camp recognized the value of what Tsubaki was doing for me, and by extension what I was doing for Naza and Liliruca (and Khemi and Sooka whenever I got the chance). They also quite liked the joint expeditions with the Miach familia as it gave them Adventuring companions to mingle with that weren't inside their current social circles; the fact that we were two Crafting-Type familias with totally different markets, and thus not in direct competition with one another also helped lower the barriers down even further.
Now, I wouldn't necessarily label the members of the Exploration group as the typical 'Type A Adventurer' personalities, as they were quite cautious and level-headed in the Dungeon, but this group had the majority of the 'helpful' members. They were the 'go-getters' who often volunteered for additional duties if they had some free time, both in terms of training the junior members or helping around with the chores.
I saw this a lot over the past seven weeks since I started working with my Goddess- if I needed something done I tended to find out my Exploration members because other than a few good-natured complaints they'd get the job done, and in the meanwhile, trying to get any of the Home-stay guys to do anything they didn't want to do was like pulling teeth. I don't know if their issue lay with me, their many, many years junior in both smithing and Adventuring, giving them tasks or if they were just like that with everyone… though I had to press 'X' to Doubt that they'd even dream of giving Tsubaki-nee or Vornir-oji such lip.
In the end, the vast majority of the work getting done around the familia was being done by the minority, and while everyone else just seemed to shrug and say 'it's always been like that'… I for one didn't think it was okay.
So I came up with a radical restructuring plan (or more like I came up with an actual organizational structure) and laid it all out for my Goddess.
There would be two camps- the Exploration Operations Branch and the Home Operations Branch.
The Exploration Ops Branch would be responsible for the combat training and conditioning of the new Adventurers and those that wished to delve into the Dungeon as much as they wished to work their forges, establish guidelines and a mentorship program for familia Smiths who wanted to delve into the Dungeon either solo or with a group, and they would also be responsible for the resource collection missions as well as handling the coordination between the Hephaestus familia and other familias for combined operations. These duties wouldn't truly be anything they weren't doing already, but what it did do was set their duties in stone and made it so that they couldn't be roped into performing all of the chores in addition to handling their smithing obligations and the Dungeon dives.
The Home Ops Branch? Well, they handled everything else.
The supply chain and logistics? Home Ops.
The administration of the Forges, Warehouses, Dorms, and Cantine? Home Ops.
The running of the Forge Fire in Tower Babel, our other smaller smithy shops in Orario, and our contracts with our 3rd party sellers? Home Ops.
A smithing training and mentorship program? Home Ops.
Really, it sounded like a lot, but when you had almost 50 smiths that spent a few hours in their forges and called it a day we had a lot of wasted man hours, and as far as I was concerned if they counted themselves as Active members of the familia then that meant their ass was mine, and I wanted to see them working and not joshing about all hours of the day playing grab ass and messing with the Apprentices.
Being a part of the Hephaestus familia should mean something, and not just a punched meal ticket utilizing the familia name to attract clients that they otherwise wouldn't normally attract. A lot of these smiths in the 'Home' group were Level 2s and 3s that worked just hard enough early in their careers to get to the level they wanted and then? Then they just stopped caring and only did the bare minimum to keep anyone off their backs. That often meant they handled their minimum quotas for weapons and then 'clocking out' to handle personal projects or custom orders on the side while eschewing any other responsibilities.
Granted, the current culture within the familia didn't see this as anything wrong, as Smithing was a form of personal art where the individual made their own way, but as part of a larger organization? I felt that if they were going to use the familia's name, resources, and networks then they should be doing more than just the bare minimum.
Starting with the chores.
For example: as much as shoveling coal was a 'rite of passage', having four apprentices toil away for three or four hours shoveling mounds of coal when a Level 2 could do the same work in fifteen minutes is a gross misuse of the apprentice's time.
Sure, have them shovel for an hour just to get them used to performing the scut work, but then after that have them use the other two or three hours performing additional smithing training, combat training, shadowing, or self-study. The early years are some of the most important for any smith, and having them waste their time when we have plenty of other more constructive things they could be doing is… well, a waste.
With just the amount of time that could be cut from Tsubaki-nee's and Hephaestus-sama's paperwork they would have more than enough time for one-on-one combat instruction or smithing instruction. Hell, even I wouldn't turn my nose up at spending an hour of my day to spar with our Level 1s and Level 2s; I have a lot to teach them not just about combat, but the Dungeon as well.
After going over the last page in my notebook I closed it and leaned back in my chair just enough to fit the toe of my boot, and I pressed on it until the back of my chair made contact with the wall behind me. With the book nestled in my lap, I scrubbed at the side of my head with the hand that didn't currently have ink stains on it, "The long and the short of it is, Kami-sama, that we have a lot of members that aren't pulling their weight, and it's negatively impacting the familia as a whole. There isn't enough organization, there isn't enough accountability when things don't get done, there isn't nearly enough structured support for our Apprentices… and once again the amount of paperwork that shouldn't require your direct attention is making sure that you and Tsubaki-nee aren't where you need to be."
I stopped rubbing my head and let my arm swing wide toward the window, "Out there , with the most junior of our familia. You're our Goddess, our guiding light in this long, never-ending journey we call 'Smithing'. If you're spending more than a small handful of hours at your desk then we as your familia are failing you; we could be so much better than we are, but ultimately the selfishness of the few is dragging us all down- mostly the youngest and least experienced among us who could benefit the most from your personal touch."
The grandfather clock 'ticking' in the background, along with our soft breaths, were all that was heard for the next few minutes as I let my Goddess digest my words. She opened up her mouth to speak but then closed it, instead rolling onto her back before holding her hand out, and I tossed my notebook to her. The redhead Divine spent ten minutes flipping through the pages with a pensive look on her face, and I used that time to dig back into the paperwork that was still in my inbox.
With the notebook held in her hands she lowered it and looked at me, "If we were, to say, entertain some of these changes… where would you start first, Bell-kun?"
After pondering it for a few moments I inhaled softly, "Well? If we were looking for the biggest return on investment for little cost? I'd start with additional clerks- many facets of our familia would benefit from a few more paper pushers, and despite having valuable skills such as literacy and mathematics clerks are very light on the pocketbook. If you wanted to you could contact the Adventurer's Guild and browbeat them pretty easily into giving you a list of their rejected applicants; the old, fat elf in charge is incredibly deferential to Divines, and if you spin it as a desire to streamline your paperwork in a way that would benefit both the Guild and our familia then I think you'd have a solid pool of applicants to draw from. The Guild is incredibly picky with who represents them to the Adventuring Community, so there would more than likely be several trustworthy and capable clerks that just didn't make the cut."
I tilted my head, "In the longer term we can take some of the prospective apprentices that weren't selected to join the familia as smiths and educate them to become clerks, and then after having done a few years of service they could be eligible to test again to join the familia. Teachers aren't too expensive, and we have that old storehouse on the south side of the complex that is just sitting there and collecting dust; a few thousand valis a month could get us two teachers that could teach the skills we need to the children and young teens."
"Ultimately, Kami-sama, there are a lot of options," I shrugged my shoulders, "I could be spending time enchanting the Smelting furnaces to be more efficient, or sitting down with our more structurally inclined members and trying to build a better furnace that I could then enchant…"
"Hoooo~," My Goddess arched an eyebrow as she gave me a small smile, "It sounds like you just want to foist off your workload on others so that you can pursue your personal projects… just like you were complaining about from the 'Home' group."
Her teasing tone let me know that she was egging me on, and I rolled my eyes at the blatant prodding, "Well, what I want to work on directly benefits the familia and not just me. I'm not trying to spend time crafting the next golden monstrosity for some Adventurer with more money than sense- already just the few little inventions I've come up with have saved us a load of time and effort; the sharpening jigs, the new imbuing tanks, etcetera, etcetera. If I can get more than just a few hours of free time I can do so much more- just having enough time to sit down and analyze our furnaces would net so many benefits!"
Hephaestus crinkled her eye as she smiled and waved my book around in front of her, "I know, I did a little reading ahead; some of your enchantments for the forges look promising, the question is: can you do them?"
Now it was my turn to arch an eyebrow, "Kami-sama, have you forgotten who you're talking to? The only real question we have to ask is if the Mystery DA considers the forge to be one whole piece, or if I can enchant the pieces separately."
She snapped the book shut with a small laugh before sitting up, and then she began giggling as she toed her boots in front of her before sliding her feet in. My Goddess stood up and placed her knuckles on her hips as she gazed down at me with a small smile on her lips, her bout of laughter petering off. "Well, alright then. I can't promise that we'll get all of these changes pushed through, but when Tsubaki-chan comes back with Vornir-kun I'll go over everything we've talked about and see if we can't reorganize."
"For now though," She stepped around the table before dropping my notebook back in my outstretched hands and then snatched up the remainder of the paperwork in my inbox, "Why don't you get your behind over to the furnaces and see about those enchantments, hmmm?"
Taking her words as the dismissal that it was, I stood up and gave her a small salute, "Hai, Kami-sama!"
The Smithing Warehouse, or as the members of the familia liked to call it, the 'Hot Box', was one of the larger buildings in our familia's compound. Sitting right next to the much smaller Alloying Warehouse, the Hot Box was one hundred and fifty paces long and fifty paces wide, it contained all of the furnaces we needed to refine the materials we brought back with us from the Dungeon or imported from outside; Hihiirokane and Heroic Alloy were the two primary imports as they were the only metals that couldn't be found inside the Dungeon.
We had multiple furnaces in the Smelting warehouse- two for Low Steel, two for Mid Steel, two for High Steel, and two for Damascus as they were our highest volume of products. Then we had one for Light Metal, Hihiirokane, Heroic Alloy, Valmarth, Nosteel, Mithril, Dir-Adamantium, Adamantium, and Orichalcum. All told we had seventeen furnaces all packed together in one large warehouse, and more often than not at least two of them were in operation at any given time, with anywhere from six to fifteen smiths required to operate one depending on the material being refined.
So, because we had the furnaces in operation, it meant that I had to shut the smelting warehouse down for those few days, but we had plenty of refined materials on hand so it wasn't like it set us back any. If anything, the rest of the familia was rather chipper at not being tasked to work in the 'hot box', but their enthusiasm dimmed somewhat as I enlisted their aid in cleaning out each furnace while I worked out just how I was going to go about enchanting them. I had my ideas in my book, but only by sitting down and laying hands on them, poking and prodding with my Mystery DA active, could I learn what I actually could and couldn't do.
Ultimately, I learned that I had to enchant each furnace piecemeal, which while upping the amount of time I would spend upgrading each of the furnaces it meant that the difficulty was drastically reduced- to the point where I could perform most of the enchantments myself without requiring Asfi Al Andromeda's help or… Lenoa the Witch's aid; Asfi liked me and was willing to work for a fee as my projects tended to help her grow in her own abilities, but Lenoa charged an arm and a leg.
Utilizing some of my utterly insane L33T Gaymur Skillz I went about tackling everything with the utmost efficiency after picking every smith's brains who spent any considerable length of time in the hot box.
One of the biggest slow-downs we experienced with any of the smelting processes was the lack of molds for ingots and bar stock. Sure, we had them, but not enough of them; especially for the higher volume materials. The material pan- where all of the refined liquid metal collected at the bottom of the furnace- held a lot more volume than we had molds for; a fair amount of time was wasted waiting for the ingots and whatnot to cool enough so that they could be tossed into the water bath, and during that time the furnace had to be maintained at temperature. This cost us time, sweat, and more than a few wheelbarrows of coal every time we fired a furnace up.
To combat this I hired Asfi to use her Metalworking DA (something I was now seriously contemplating picking up for my Level 5 for the sheer utility it offered) to create a bunch more molds. For us it would have been a hassle, but for her? Well, she simply folded a few ingots together, smoothed them out into a thick sheet as if it were naught but dough, and then pressed a half dozen full-sized ingots into it before using a small piece of bar stock to press some channels to connect each new mold.
It took her less than three minutes to make a new mold, and it looked like she was rather enjoying herself too.
Now, we had to tailor each mold to the next tier up to ensure that they could withstand the temperatures (i.e, using Mid Steel molds for Low Steel, High Steel molds for Mid Steel, Damascus molds for High Steel, etc, etc) and some of the molds got pretty expensive because of the number of high-class materials being used to make molds. In fact, it was something that had more than a few of the Smiths sniffling with tears in their eyes- ten ingots of beautiful black Mithril were used to make a six-ingot mold plate for the other magical metals, but in the end, Hephaestus approved the expenditure. It wasn't like we weren't swimming in the stuff; the bi-monthly expeditions were keeping our storehouses quite full, and no doubt Tsubaki's return would herald another large influx of valuable metals.
So while Asfi was working her magic on the molds, I was working my magic on the furnaces themselves.
I learned that yes, I could enchant the various parts of them, but the biggest parts- the verticle stacks- I couldn't enchant unless I wanted to enchant every single brick. I had an idea as to how I could improve the stacks, but that required Asfi's help, so instead I busied myself enchanting what I could immediately improve.
The billows were all replaced with brand-new ones, and I enchanted them to enhance their durability and throughput. The collection pans were enchanted to better reflect heat and had a hydrophobic component that made sure all of the liquid metal would make it down the spout without needing to be scraped to hell and back to ensure each drop made it down. The slag port was likewise enchanted to be more lubricious, and it could draw more slag easily down the chute without needing to be agitated as much.
With Asfi's Metalworking I was able to line the interior of the furnace stack with a paper-thin layer of metal that reflected heat back down into the furnace, and at the top of each stack we had what essentially were magical filters that would pull most of the smog and crap out of the exhaust air; those would be hosed off and scrubbed with the wastewater going into the sewer system.
Wait. I know what you're thinking, but just stop for a moment.
The sewer system of Orario is lightyears ahead of its time- the sewers themselves were crafted and enchanted by the Gods and Goddesses who constructed them, with everything being magically purified by Divine spellwork before being put back into circulation into the water supply. Piss, shit, and everything else literally get broken down into mana particles, leaving the cleanest, most pristine water (with the perfect electrolyte balance) that a mortal can drink Even the water coming out of the public fountains is cleaner than what most people in the world get to see- in fact, its not uncommon to see people filling up their canteens or buckets right from the spouts in the poorer areas of Orario… so some coal dust and chemical residue isn't going to hurt anything.
If anything we're going to be improving the quality of life for everyone living around the Hephaestus Smithing district.
All in all, we ended up shelling out about forty million valis for all of the materials we used in the upgrades, but I think that in the end, it was all worth it.
"Push! Pull! Push! Pull! Put 'yer backs into it ye' lazy gits!" Dolberan, one of the Level 2s who frequently worked the Hot Box yelled out at the pair of Level 1s working the bellows for the High Steel furnace.
Already the upgrades were paying dividends in time saved, as we cut the required smiths down to four from six, and the furnaces got up to melting temperatures faster and stayed there with far less effort.
"We're about ready to crack 'er open- ready the molds!" The half-dwarf shouted as he and his partner readied the molds on the steel carts before sliding them in front of the chute. When they were in position he motioned for one of the young men working the bellows to peel off, "Alright! Galon, keep working the bellow! Urien, grab the hook and crack 'er! No! Just to half ye' fool!"
I stood next to Asfi and my Goddess as we and a small crowd of others watched the whole process play out, the two men carefully sliding the filled molds out with a second cart of empty molds, before a third cart was maneuvered into place, with a fourth following that.
Bam! Just like that the entire collection pan was empty whereas before we would have been forced to close it shut while we waited for the molten steel in the molds to cool.
"Alright Urien, start filling the stack up! Randal, work the bellows some while Galon agitates the slag chute," Dolberon wasn't idle while the other three worked, the Level 2 pushing the mold carts toward the water bath before trotting over to the coal pile and tossing a few shovel fulls in.
I nodded my head as I placed my hands on my hips, "Looks like everything is working beautifully; I'll have to check the enchantments over once everything cools down, but I think we have a real big 'win' on our hands."
My Goddess reached up and patted my head indulgently, a small smirk on her lips, "I would have to agree; that used to take almost two hours before, but now a full pan completed in just under an hour- quite the boon. Good work, Bell-kun."
"Aw, Kami-sama, I didn't do it alone," I nudged Asfi with my hip as I gave her a big smile, "Thanks for the help, Asfi-san."
The older teen's cheeks were tinged with red from the heat of the furnace as she coughed into her fist, "N-no, it was my pleasure. It was a fun learning experience for me, and it isn't like I'm not being compensated for my work."
"Hmmmm," My Goddess stopped patting my head and reached down to her waist to untie the small coin pouch before handing it over to Asfi, "Speaking of compensation- two million, two hundred thousand valis as agreed."
I paid her fifty thousand valis an hour for her Metalworking talents, and while we could have done it cheaper ourselves, the ass pain would have been great, and I sort of wanted the instant gratification; a little bit of money sped up the process a great deal, and it wasn't like we wouldn't be getting our money's worth. Those molds would see use for centuries at least- the oldest Adamantium molds we have date back to the familia's founding, and she got that first set from Svarog-sama who'd been using them for two centuries prior.
It was quite funny to see the normally stoic young woman's eyes light up as she gratefully accepted the small sack before slipping it into one of the numerous pouches on her hip.
"Thank you very much for your patronage, Hephaestus-sama," Asfi folded her hands neatly in front of her hips before bowing lowly at the waist, and when she came back up she gave me a small smile, "And if you have any more interesting projects for me to work on please let me know. We'll be in Orario a little while longer now that the familia has… new equipment. Hermes-sama wishes for everyone to get comfortable with the new weapons and armor before we set out again."
Ah, the sweet smell of common sense.
"I'm glad to hear that, Asfi-san," I reached out and patted her hands as we worked our way through the small crowd of Smiths watching the new furnaces in action as we made our way to the front entrance, "Though do let me know when you're going to leave if you can- I'd like to make some similar upgrades to all of the forges if at all possible; we've got sixty of them and that will be a fair bit of work."
"O-of course, Bell-kun, though I cannot make any promises; if there is one thing that my God is it's fickle- we might up and leave without any warning so… yes, I'll inform you if I can," Asfi nodded as she strode out the front gate, and with one last low bow the Adventurer known to Orario as Persus walked smoothly down the illuminated streets before fading off into the night, all the while holding her hand to her chest.
I felt Hephaestus wrap an arm around my neck before dragging my head to her bosom, "Oh Bell-kun, what am I going to do with you? Liliruca will get mad at you if you keep doing what you're doing."
The soft blue light from the magic stone lamps on the street made seeing my Goddess' amused smirk rather easy, and I shook my head as I wrapped an arm around her waist and gave her a side hug, "I don't know what you're implying but there isn't anything going on between Asfi-san and me, Kami-sama. You're imagining things."
"Right, right," Her smirk morphed into a warm smile as she planted a soft kiss on the side of my brow before she and I turned to walk back into the compound toward the Main Office, "So, you were right on the money about the Adventurer's Guild."
I popped my neck as I released her side so that we could walk more easily, the pair of us instead linking arms as our boots beat a steady tattoo on the cobblestone streets of the smithing district, "Oh? How so?"
"The Guild Head, Royman, was… a lot easier to lean on than I had anticipated; he was always quite staunch whenever I dealt with him in the past, but after putting a little bit of pressure on him he gave me the list of rejected applicants and the Guild's reasons for turning them away," Hephaestus voice was a touch amused, her eye glowing softly in the dim lights surrounding us, "Did you know that the majority of applicants were turned away because they didn't match the 'aesthetic' he believed Guild Workers should have?"
I blew a big raspberry, "I mean, yeah, I don't think I've ever seen a Guild employee that wasn't either absurdly beautiful, cute, or handsome, but to turn someone away merely because of that? I heard that Royman looks down on anyone not a Divine- half-elves especially- but I didn't expect him to be that petty. What a prick."
Hephaestus hummed, "Well, their loss will be our gain. All applicants are screened for trustworthiness and dependability before they even reach an interview with Royman using some magical items that he wouldn't disclose, so we are fine on that front."
"That's true- even a few extra hands handling the minutiae will go a long way, and with the improvements to the Smelting Warehouse we should have a lot of smiths with some more time on their hands that we'll need to keep busy. I'll gather up some of the guys and see if we can't hammer out some sort of training schedule for our juniors- ack!" I flinched as my Goddess' gloved hand pinched my non-existent love handle.
"No, you will have the honor of helping me interview all of these prospective clerks, Mister Acting-Captain," Her smirk returned with a vengeance, "After all, it was your idea, ne, Bell-kun?"
"Uuuuuuuu, Kami-sama, haven't I done enough of that stuff? I still need to get around to enchanting the forges, the anvils, the hammers, not to mention taping out what I'll need Asfi-san to work on!"
I did not whine. At all.
"You can handle all of that after we get through these interviews, and as for the additional training for your juniors I will have Richard-kun work on that."
"Richard isn't going to like that at all," I mused.
Richard Yeldry was a Level 4 and one of the old guard that headed up the ring of the Home-stay camp; the dude was skilled but lazy as all hell. He earned his nickname by loudly proclaiming upon his Rank Up that he was only going to smith the most expensive weapons and armor, and his greed earned him the alias Gold Hammer. As his ability grew so to did his ego, and that directly correlated to the vastly inflated prices of his weapons- if you saw a weapon with too many zeroes in the display cases in front of Forge Fire then chances are it was probably one of his works; he made gaudy weapons that were usually encrusted with precious gems and gold filigree, but they were still functional pieces, and unfortunately just like a gold-plated AK-47 there were still people in the market for such workmanship.
So with his very high opinion of himself, he naturally didn't do well with the bunch of snot-nosed newbie smiths (me least of all), and tended to brush them all off. Though with Hephaestus-sama giving him a direct job there was no way he could refuse, and with his ego demanding that he only put out the 'best product'… he just might come up with a good plan for what to do with the newbie's training.
"Huh, not a bad play," I muttered.
"Exactly," My Goddess smiled as she reached up and pinched my cheek gently, "Now, let's sit down in my office and have some tea with Helena- she'll likely have some keen insight as to what exactly we should be asking our prospective new hires."
I blew out a gusting sigh as I nodded, "Haaaiiii~, Khami-schama."
Interview prep. Yay.
Special thanks to Lmc9389, Artillery, AuraofCalm, Mioismoe, D. Wongsonegoro, Darkarma, Acrimonius, T. Balewood, Randall Randall, Dominyx Black, CyberCrisis, Blue, Russ Stilter, Legion_13, Mike Fatal_Bullet, P. Nguyen, J. Ricardo Passos, K. Weierbach, R. Alderman, A P, Arrorn, Empty Shelf, PbookR, Mortaegus, Nevets309, Jake95044, Jackson R., G. Johnson, T. Dewitt, M. McGuire, DragonShark-Eater, Big-Tofu, Alexei A., Brandon B., David B., Grant L., Anti-Akuma, Cailk, Robert H., Jigawats, Joseph M. Teti, Konb, Stelliferous, A. McGregor, Jasticus, C. Wiggins, and M. Compean for being Patrons!
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A/N: A little transitory chapter. Next should be a small interlude for Tsubaki as she works her butt off in the Dungeon.
In my mind the familias don't really have much of a rigid structure, unlike the Guild, and they tend to wing things more often than not. Even the Loki familia has only a small handful of people handling all of the paperwork for the entire familia, which I sort of explore in the Saga of Tanya the Adventurer. Really, if you ask me, the only thing that has kept most familias afloat is the fact that Divines have perfect memory and never forget things, so the chances that something falls through on their end happening is pretty slim unless the Divine just felt lazy (or isn't that involved in the Administration to begin with). Hephaestus has multiple businuesses that require her attention, as well as the operations of the familia (the forges, the store houses, etc) so she typically has a LOT of paperwork to do each day, but adding in some middle-level managers would significantly reduce her workload so that she can do more of the things she likes and probably should be doing to begin with.
The Hephaestus familia is currently a conglomoration of smiths that pretty much act independently of each other unless united for tasks (handling Guild weapons/armor obligations, chores, etc) and without something coming down from the top everyone pretty much does their own thing. As long as they do the bare minimum then they can essentially set their own hours, and Bell is not about that lifestyle. Everyone works, everyone contributes because the familia is a team, and teamwork is important. He's got a whole camp of Specialists (the Spec. 4 Mafia) that he needs to beat into shape via heaping responsibilities on top of them that will put them under scruitny if they fuck up or fuck around, so while it won't be something immediate once Tsubaki and Vornir come back they'll sit down and discuss the merits of giving more structure to the familia versus letting it remain the same. Hephaestus is already giving some of his ideas a chance by hiring more clerks to handle some of the paperwork and non-vital oversight, and while she knows that what she is doing will see better returns, she is going to wait to see those returns first before investing further.
Bell has to pretty radical ideas, to include a complete reorganization of the entire familia compound (tearing down and rebuilding) to make everything both bigger and better, and that is a many hundred million valis investment… but he thinks it would be worth it. It's not like the familia doesn't have valis to burn or anything…
Interlude - Hermes
[Hermes, God of Travel]
"Maa, maa… you want to see me again so soon?" Hermes smiled as he looked down at the small note he held between his fingers, and with the tiniest flex of his Divine might the thin scrap turned to dust, "How… interesting."
"Kami-sama," The God tilted his head to the side and looked at his sweet, cute, darling Asfi-chan from under the brim of his hat, and he flinched at the sight of the young woman's curled lip, "You have a disgusting look on your face."
It was reflex at this point, the man's hand reaching up and grasping at his chest, "Ooof, ow, Asfi-chan~! That really hurts, yanno!? Your wonderful, humble God has a tender heart!"
The teen huffed as she crossed her arms under her bosom and looked away, "So… should I tell him that you'll meet with him at the usual place?"
He relaxed, a small sigh leaving his lips, "Yes, at the usual place if you would be so kind, Asfi-chan."
Asfi's half-cape fluttered as she placed her fists on her hips, "Very well then, I will tell him when I see him tomorrow."
"Oho~? You're going back tomorrow?" Hermes let his eyes slide over to his Captain seated on the opposite side of the table in his small office, the woman playing with her blonde ponytail as she rocked her chair back and forth- a rakish grin on her lips, "I thought you were done today?"
Asfi adjusted her glasses as she looked off to the side, a small blush staining her cheeks, "No, not quite. There are ten more forges left to enchant, so I should be finished in a few hours."
Hermes perked up a touch and he rested his elbow on top of his desk, his chin seated on the palm of his thin leather gloves, "Ah, so that's what you two have been up to this whole time? I noticed that there seemed to be a lot less smoke coming from the Hephaestus Smithing District these past few days… I take it that some improvements were made to the Smelting Furnaces first and now you two are working on improving the forges now?"
Idly he wondered just how much the other Smithing Divines would pay for some information like that… he'd have to work quickly though- if he noticed the changes to the Hephaestus district then no doubt the others would catch on soon enough. His eyes crinkled and-
"Kami-sama," Asfi's tone was reproachful, her voice drawing his attention back to her stern, pouting expression, "Bell-kun and Hephaestus-sama are paying me extra for discretion…"
"Okay, okay, I understand," He leaned back in his chair as he held his hands up in surrender, and she visibly slackened in relief, "Considering they've been such good clients of ours as of late I think we can honor that."
Not to mention her time around Bell Cranel has been good for her- she's grown by leaps and bounds in not only her strength as an Adventurer but in her skill with her Mystery. The younger kiddies had nothing but glowing praise for their dear 'Asfi-sama' when they ventured into the Dungeon, and the additional income her work generated allowed them to equip everyone with some very nice weapons and armor, an area that he begrudgingly admitted they were woefully inadequate. That and all of the ideas within Bell-kun's mind helped his sweet little Asfi-chan come up all sorts of unique and interesting toys; his eyes slid over to the polished gold rectangle roughly the size of a playing card seated innocuously on a stand.
That little thing alone was worth many times more its weight in the gold it was made…
"Good," The artificer crossed her arms underneath her bosom and nodded her head, the teen pleased with her God's acquiescence, "Then I will retire for the evening."
With that, she spun on her heel and made her way to the door, but when she grasped the door handle she stopped, the young woman looking at him over her shoulder, "Kami-sama?"
Feeling a small thrill at her questioning tone the God shot up to his feet, almost knocking his chair over in his haste, "Yes!? My cute, sweet, dutiful Asfi-chan~!?"
The fond exasperation on her face was delectable, and he heard Lydia chuckling quietly behind her hand. "Are we leaving Orario anytime soon?"
"No, I don't think so, but in our line of work that can change at any moment," The God hummed softly as he rubbed at his chin, "Why do you ask?"
"W-well Bell-kun is arranging another expedition into the Dungeon to gather resources- apparently they received a large order for Valmarth weapons from the north," Asfi's voice grew softer and softer as she fidgeted in place, "And he asked if I'd like to accompany him."
"What!?" Lydia gasped in faux horror, her hands coming up to cup her cheeks, "You want to go on another expedition with that boy!?"
"No! No! I forbid it! Not only were you gone for a whole month last time- leaving your stalwart and dutiful Captain to do all the paperwork by herself and take the kiddies into the Dungeon on her own- but when you came back you suddenly grew all strong and willful! You even told me to do my own paperwork instead of doing it for me like you always do! I reject such a thing!" It was difficult to contain himself as the woman stood up to continue her teasing rant, the Captain of his familia crossing her arms in front of her chest in an 'X' before turning her pleading gaze onto Hermes himself, "Kami-sama! You can't possibly think to okay such a thing! Think of your beautiful and loyal Captain- how am I supposed to relax and have fun if I have to do paperwork!?"
"Why you-!" Showing off just a touch of her newfound strength Asfi blurred across the intervening distance and wrapped her arm around Lydia's neck, putting her in a headlock as she began pinching her Captain's cheek ruthlessly.
"Oww! Owwowow! Owie~! Aschfi-chwan, you'wre bweing schwo mwean~!"
"Maa~," The God sighed before a large smile tugged at his lips and he walked around the far side of the desk to gently grab the irate teen's hand, allowing Lydia to slip from her grip and dance away to the opposite side of her chair, "Now, now, I think that if Asfi-chan wants to go into the Dungeon with her little boyfriend-"
Asfi's blush was positively beautiful, and despite having her cheeks mauled the Captain giggled evilly, "Aschfi-chwan hwas a bwoyfwuend~"
"- then that's a good thing, ne?" Hermes clasped her hand and pulled it to his chest, "I might not be a God of Romance, but I for one support young love! Even if the boy in question already has enough women to start his own village."
The young woman let out a noise that wouldn't have been out of place coming from a tea kettle before she gently yanked her hand away and she stormed to the door with a huff, "You two are impossible! I'll let you know the full details when I get them. Good. Night."
A soft 'click' from the door was all that could be heard marking her passage, and Lydia chuckled as she slipped back into her chair while massaging her cheeks, "Ahhhhh~, Asif-chan is just too cute! Though if I'm being honest I'm a little bit surprised to see her wanting to go back into the Dungeon again for an extended period, especially after she just got back not too long ago."
Hermes hummed as he walked over to the bookcase and drew out a thin binder, the God of Travel flipping through the pages until he found what he was looking for, "Well she is pretty close to Level 4. With all of the crafting she's been doing with young Bell Cranel-kun her Metalworking and Mystery both popped up to G-rank… and she's also picked up a spell."
"Oho~? Is it a unique spell?" Lydia stood up and pressed her cheek against Hermes' arm to look down at the Update Sheet.
"No, it's just a simple healing spell, one of the lowest ranked ones, but she picked it up to train her Magic stat. From what she's learned from Bell-kun there is a correlation between one's Magic stat and the Mystery Developmental Ability. They created a device that measures Mind, and the boy has more than ten times her amount, which is allowing him to enchant far more often than she herself.." Hermes let that hang in the air, knowing his Captain would puzzle out the rest in short order.
"So in just the short few months since he's gained Mystery he's improved a fair bit then? Huh, Asfi-chan might be feeling the pinch if she's actually training- she's always been so enamored with her little 'splodey balls…"
"My thoughts exactly," He grinned and closed the book before sliding it back in its place, and in a fit of pique he reached up and tugged at the end of her ponytail.
"Mou! Kami-sama! If you're going to pull my hair at least do it properly~!"
The 'Golden Honeypot' was one of Hermes' favorite places in all of Orario- It was neat, clean, and homey, and the owners knew the value of discretion.
The tea and pastries they offered weren't too bad either, though one of the tea houses in the Far East he'd come across in his travels had them beaten by a wide margin.
Still though, the fact that their private tea rooms were insulated by Hecate herself meant that any conversations held within their confines would stay private, and that was something the 'White Lotus' couldn't boast.
Bell Cranel, though he preferred to be called 'Winters', was seated at a corner table with his back to the wall, allowing him to see who entered and who exited with the private tea room's door open.
"Welcome back, Hermes-sama!" The proprietress, a half-elf named Elmina, bowed shallowly at the waist from behind the counter as he entered, "Your usual?"
"Yes, the corner room in the back if you would be so kind," He waved to her before dropping a handful of valis on the counter and strode forward, his boots making barely a sound on the hardwood as he crossed the distance between him and the Enigma of the Zeus familia.
Fifty thousand was definitely an overpayment by a wide margin, but that was the cost when you wanted to keep your business to yourself.
Hermes felt a shiver slither up his spine as he caught sight of the serious expression on the young teen's face, and he just knew deep within his very bones that this was going to be one of
those
kinds of conversations.
One of those backroom chats that just might shake the very foundations.
To say that the 'God of Gossip' was excited would be an understatement.
The moment the door to the private tea room was closed the Divine pressed his thumb to the small magic circle carved into the table and released a tiny, infinitesimal fraction of his power, and a small hum filled the air as the spell took shape to seal them off from the world outside. "My, my, I must say I'm a touch surprised to hear that you were asking Asfi-chan to set up a little meeting like this with me."
The boy was good at controlling his body, but a small twitch of the pinky finger on his right hand displayed his impatience. A possible tell? No, too soon to know- he didn't have nearly enough experience with the boy to know for sure.
Not that he needed a tell to discern Truthes from Lies, or even to detect obfuscation, but Hermes liked to think that he was an expert on mortals not simply because of his Divinity.
"Well, if I'm being honest it sort of took me a while to come around to the idea that I could even come to you for help," The teen's red eyes crinkled as a small grimace twisted at his lips, and he reached up to scratch the side of his head, "A… severe oversight on my part."
Hermes allowed himself to smile as he leaned back in his chair and pushed the brim of his cowboy hat up with a solitary finger, "Help? Shouldn't you be asking your Goddess for that? What could I, a humble God of Travelers have to offer you that your Goddess could not?"
It was a small thing, but the boy displayed more of that 'wisdom beyond his years' that Hermes found so fascinating by not rising to the bait. Instead of getting flustered, embarrassed, or angry at the insinuation the young teen merely ticked off his fingers, "Besides your experience, information network, willingness to seek out the truth, and connection? My Goddess is hands down, without a doubt, the best Goddess in all of Tenkai and Gekai, but she is a Mistress of the Forge… not a Spymaster."
"And that is what I am finding myself in need of," Ruby red eyes confidently met Hermes' emerald green.
"Maa~ I'm really flattered you think that, but truly, I'm nothing so grand," A soft laugh escaped the God's lips and fanned himself with a hand, and after a few moments he allowed a touch of his interest to slip through, "Though I must admit that you have my attention. What is it that you find yourself needing to know that would require my aid?"
The young man crossed his arms, "Information, obviously."
The God rolled his eyes playfully, "Well that
is
a given."
"Two things," Bell Cranel began before correcting himself, "- no, many things. Suffice it to say that should you choose to honor my requests you'll find yourself quite busy in the City… I have a feeling that something dark could be approaching Orario on the horizon."
Hermes let his eyes widen as he leaned forward conspiratorially, "Something
dark
, you say?"
"Before we get to that I want you to look into finding someone, if you can."
Ah, the boy was a genuine tease!
"There are a lot of people in this big, wide world, Cranel-kun, but I'll see what I can do if the price is right."
Hmm… still not even a twitch at being called by his father's name? Perhaps he-?
The boy produced an envelope and held it out for the God to take, and Hermes broke the seal with his thumb before pulling out what looked to be a drawing along with a set of descriptors. The sketch was somewhat rough with an odd style to it, but the key points were there- golden hair with a sort of bowl-cut to the bangs and green eyes, around fifteen years of age… a Reynard? "Sanjouno Haruhime, huh?"
He flipped over to the second sheet, and on it was a very peculiar list of details, and the God took them all in with merely a glance, though one bit stuck out at him in particular: 'Location- Ishtar familia. If not, then check trafficking rings around Orario. If not then check caravans coming from the Far East?'
"Funnily enough you've given me more to work with than most, Cranel-kun," Hermes folded the pages up before slipping them back into the envelope, "Most of the time I am lucky to get more than a name… though how about we discuss payment before we go any further?"
The white-haired youth reached down and pulled a coin pouch from his pocket and placed it on the table, "Double your usual rates for a job like this… paid upfront and-"
"Ah, I have a lot on my plate already, Cranel-kun, after all, everyone wants to know something," Hermes interjected as he placed his elbows on the table and rested his chin on his interlaced fingers, the man knowing full well that the boy was going to sweeten the pot, "Why should I move your requests up in priority?"
Messing with people was just too much fun!
Still, the boy didn't rise to the snipe, but instead, he fixed the God of Travel with a small smirk of his own.
"Aside from the fact that you likely have the answers to most of their requests already and just enjoy making them wait?" The teen shook his head before placing a hand on the table, "
Three questions
."
Hermes allowed his eyebrows to rise, "Just three?"
"Any three. No matter the question I will do my best to be as forthright and as detailed as possible… and depending on the nature of the question I will allow follow-on questions if more depth is required for context. Though if I don't know the answers then I'll tell you I don't know and… will allow a different question."
There were no lies in the boy's words, nor any attempts to obfuscate.
Hermes tugged the brim of his hat down as he let out a gusting sigh, "Maa~, you really think highly of yourself, ne? Cranel-kun?"
He kept himself outwardly aloof but on the
inside
, his Divine mind was racing with the possibilities.
"Hoo~? Are you saying you aren't interested?" The boy teased back lightly before producing another coin pouch and setting it next to the first one, "Should I just triple the rate and remove the questions?"
"Now, now, let's not be too hasty here," Hermes cracked a smile as he tilted his head to the side to fix the Adventurer with a single eye, "I didn't say that I wasn't interested…"
Normally he would have taken both the money and the questions, but considering Asfi-chan was practically minting valis with her updated and expanded catalog of goods the familia was actually riding high on the hog in terms of their familia accounts. A lot of that could be laid directly at the feet of the Hephaestus smith, and Hermes wasn't one to directly antagonize someone that had done right by one of his children… if he could help it.
Bell Cranel's eyes crinkled and he nodded, "So we are in agreement then?"
"Agreed," Hermes reached out and swiped the first bag, "No take backsies~!"
"Wouldn't dream of it, but on to the next order of business," The boy shook his head as he reached down and pulled out a much larger sack of coins and sat it on the table, "This one will end up being very dangerous if my suspicions are correct. So… ten times your normal rate… and as much information as I can give you so you know just what exactly it is you're walking into."
The God of Travel resisted the urge to lick his lips as Bell Cranel produced a small book and placed it on top of the sack of money. While the pouch was pleasingly plump, it was more the book that caught his attention- it was a given that when fellow Divines or other mortals asked him to find out things it was because they did not know and thus required information. Very rarely did they have anything more than the barest inkling of what it was they sought, and it was up to Hermes and his familia's sleuthing skills to fill in the gaps and paint the picture… so for the boy to have enough information to fill out this small book?
It was a tantalizing prospect, one strong enough to overcome his innate sense of caution when taking on requests that the client would outright call 'dangerous'. This went double because his familia, while small, was still quite powerful in their own right, with a Level 4, three Level 3s, and a heaping helping of Level 1s that were right on the cusp of Level 2- and he knew for a fact that Bell Cranel knew the broad strokes of his familia…
"Now, before we begin, let me preface this: This might be one of the single most important undertakings in the History of Orario."
The hook was baited.
"The contents of this book have the potential to bring about consequences that might shake the very foundations of the city…"
The line was cast…
"And quite likely the entire world…"
Oh, Hermes knew what it was, but how could he not just open up his mouth and-
"I accept."
The book was in Hermes' hand in the flash, and he began flipping through the pages like a man possessed.
Evilus
and their plan to destroy Orario and quite possibly doom the entire world.
Knossos
, their hidden labyrinth beneath the city and its entrance in Daedalus.
The Familias and Divines
in league with Evilus that wished to see their plants come to fruition.
The second Dungeon Entrance
in Melen and the Njord familia's unwitting assistance to Evilus.
Thanatos, Rudra, Apate, Alecto and… Erebus?
He really wanted to question how such a hopeless guy like him ever managed to stop moping around long enough to even find a group of evil pals to hang around with… but it definitely fit.
Huh, Dionysus was Enyo? Well… the guy was kind of weird, and he gave Hermes the creeps so… probably not too far out there?
Honestly, Hermes was just short of vibrating in his seat as he poured over the entirety of the booklet, from the list of attacks in the Dungeon to the monsters that Evilus would create… and the
Demi-Spirit
?
Despite the detail of the rest of the entries in the book, that particular entry was incredibly light, only stating that the Spirit could be anywhere from Level 5 to Level 7 in strength.
Regardless, Hermes pressed on, the God finding himself soon pausing once more to read over the sparse details on Alfia and Zald.
To think that
Gluttony
and the
Silence
would be involving themselves in Erebus' schemes to bring about a stronger, more unified Orario?
The cover of the book creaked in his hands before he shut it and tugged the cap on his head very, very low. He needed to hide the absolutely
jubilant
smile on his face from the boy because what the boy saw as a threat- one that needed to be investigated and then exterminated- the God of Travel only saw it as the makings of one hell of a story!
It took all of his considerable self-control to not break out into childish giggles as his mind conjured thoughts of battle, blood, struggle, and glory. Even if the story was to end in defeat there was always the possibility that the heroes of this tale, laid low by their enemies, would rise up once more! And if not them then others would rise up to take their place!
Ah~, if only mortals could see the beauty of a good story like the Gods could?
Loki, he knew, would be right on his side, but the Children… they tended to see having their homes destroyed and precious people slain as a bad thing instead of an opportunity to stand up and make their own way from the ashes of their old lives.
Still, while this little book was a treasure trove of interesting data… Hermes needed to do his due diligence.
"This is quite the thing you've given me Cranel-kun. Just as you said if its contents are indeed true then… this could very well indeed shake the foundations of the world itself, though considering some of the people implicated in this are my fellow Divines I'm going to need to know just how exactly you acquired all of this juicy information?" Hermes leaned back in his chair and put his boots up on the corner before crossing his feet, "More importantly, what exactly are you wanting me to
do
with all of this?"
The boy drew in a slow, deep breath before letting it out with a heaving sigh, "Well I am not surprised you asked but… the second part first- I want you to try and verify everything that you can from that book. I already know for a fact that Evilus exists- their assault on my expedition with the Miach familia last year was proof enough- but as for the rest of it? I need it to be verified, both for my sake and for your sake. As for what we'd do with it if we can get it all… I'd like for you to present it to the Big Five and then with all of that we can begin making plans to counter whatever it is Evilus has been plotting in the meanwhile."
"Though as to your first question… that would be one of your three; do you
really
want to know that badly?"
It would be one of his three questions from the first job but… goodness, learning how the boy managed to get all this was just too delicious to pass up!
"Of course,
Bell-kyun~
," Ah, that got a reaction out of him! Though if only he didn't look at him like he was the most disgusting thing on the face of the lower world! Don't look at him like that- he's just very excited!
The boy shook his head- after shuddering- and then fixed the God with a stern look, "Be mindful, Hermes-sama, that I'm… trusting you a lot with this information. If you let it slip to the wrong person then I'll
know
because I haven't told anyone other than my Jii-chan."
Hermes waved his hand, "Bell-kun, you have nothing to fear from me- if there is one thing I know how to do it's keep a secret… or at least, how to keep the
right
secrets."
"Very well then-" They were interrupted by a knock on the door and Bell's eyes slipped to the side, "Well, on second thought, some refreshments wouldn't go amiss; I just might need something to drink… I have a lot to explain."
The God of Travel opened the door and accepted the tray from Talia, the waitress was a cute little thing, and most certainly deaf, and after giving her a generous tip he sat the tray containing a pot of tea and two cups. Bell Cranel, while fairly progressive in his dealings with the Divine, still had the common decency to serve the God his tea before fixing himself a cup.
After a few sips, the boy sat his cup on the tea saucer with nary a clatter as he folded his hands in his lap and began, "It all started many years ago when I was a small boy and took a bump on the head-"
It was a struggle, but Hermes just barely managed to keep his cup from rattling against the porcelain held in his other hand as he told his tale.
Hermes leaned back in his chair as he watched his fellow Divines hem and haw over the naming of the newest Level 2s. It was the first time he'd been able to attend a Denatus in a few years thanks to his many adventures outside of Orario, and while he found it to be rather boring as his fellow Gods and Goddesses rarely ever changed, he had to admit that the frantic energy did something to temper the thrumming excitement that was boiling just beneath the surface of his skin.
It had cost him two of his questions, but learning that the boy had not only been 'gifted' with a rather detailed vision of the future by the Fates, but was a botched reincarnation as well was something that tickled the God of Travel pink! The Fates had to be the ones meddling in the affairs of the world because they were the few Divines that weren't beholden to the normal procedures of the Divine Administration- after all, if they were sanctioned or stripped of their abilities who else could take their place and adequately perform their duties?
If they were going so far as to directly intervene then it meant that the situation was dire enough for them to break their own self-imposed codes… and that meant that the boy had been correct in assuming that some rather interesting things were on the horizon.
If Evilus succeeded in their plans to destroy Orario then that meant the Dungeon could run amok, plunging the whole world back into chaos once more. While Hermes, being a God, was indeed disconnected from the plights of most mortals, there was indeed enough there to provoke him into action; he liked to think that it was enlightened self-interest that would spur him into action just as much as the contents of the story itself.
'An evil, dastardly plot on the cusp of victory being thwarted by the intrepid heroes' would never not be a rousing tale, and while Hermes did indeed enjoy seeing stories where the villains triumphed from time to time, this wasn't quite something he could allow to happen. His beloved Children lived in Gekai, and more importantly, all of his stuff was here! If Evilus succeeded then his vacation would most certainly be cut short, and he couldn't allow that.
So, for the time being, he would fulfill his role in this particular play so that he could sit back, relax, and enjoy the show once the climax finally came around.
" -Sand Viper!"
"No, we already have a Sand Viper! Uh, she uses wind magic, right? Sandstorm!"
"Anubis, come on, buddy, we've been over this already- it's supposed to only sound cool! Get with the program already!"
Hermes hid his smile behind the brim of his hat as the Divine's favorite little game of 'Pin the Alias on the Adventurer' was in full swing.
Bell Cranel just managed to hold onto his moniker as the 'Smith Prince' upon his Rank Up to Level 4, though it was a close thing. He'd already been on thin ice before, but him 'making his relationship with Aiz Wallenstein official' had put a huge target on his back… and the suggested alternatives had not been kind. Only a coalition between Skadi and Hephaestus saved him from being renamed, though that meant they spent their political capital a touch too early when it came time to for their newest Level 2 children.
' Sciurus Petalktis', ' Kage no Kūgā', and ' Kasshoku no Kūgā' were the best things that they could get for the Pallum girl Liliruca Arde, and the Werewolf girls Khemi, and Sooka. Perhaps a touch creatively bankrupt on the part of the other Gods and Goddesses, but making fun of the Pallum's demure stature, and the 'Ara-ara onee-san' energy the two Werewolves gave off with their rather mature portraits was the best that the Denatus could come up with as more than a few of the other Children had been them a lot of trouble.
"Uuuuuuu… she's got such good skin for an older woman, why not 'Timeless Sands'?"
"Wait! Demeter's Boobs, I think you're onto something there! She's been an Adventurer for like twenty-two years and she's just now making Level 2! Why, she's practically an old lady already! Great work! Gold star for Demeter's boobs!"
The large-chested, brainless Goddess clapped happily as the rest of the buffoons heaped on back-handed praise. "Hee-hee-hee, I got a gold star! Yay!"
"Meh, good enough for me, but I think that 'Sandy Vagine' has a certain panache that just can't be beat! Though let's move on and get to the next one- one of my kiddies is making her famous pot pie tonight and I don't want to be late!"
It took all of his self-control to not roll his eyes, as he could come up with much better aliases than these fools, but instead, he used the hub-bub to discretely eye the Gods who were listed in the book.
No doubt the boy had given him quite the task, but if anything it was a challenge that Hermes was more than willing to accept.
Special thanks to Lmc9389, Artillery, AuraofCalm, Mioismoe, D. Wongsonegoro, Darkarma, Acrimonius, T. Balewood, Randall Randall, Dominyx Black, CyberCrisis, Blue, Russ Stilter, Legion_13, Mike Fatal_Bullet, P. Nguyen, J. Ricardo Passos, K. Weierbach, R. Alderman, A P, Arrorn, Empty Shelf, PbookR, Mortaegus, Nevets309, Jake95044, Jackson R., G. Johnson, T. Dewitt, M. McGuire, DragonShark-Eater, Big-Tofu, Alexei A., Brandon B., David B., Grant L., Anti-Akuma, Cailk, Robert H., Jigawats, Joseph M. Teti, Konb, Stelliferous, A. McGregor, Jasticus, C. Wiggins, and M. Compean for being Patrons!
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A/N: Shorter chapter today- celebrating my 32 birthday with the fam, so here is my birthday gift from me to you! Happy birthday, you! Lmao.
As a side note, writing intelligent, sneaky characters like Hermes is pretty hard… I hope I did a decent enough job at it.
Though to those of you who noticed that the attack has yet to happen you are correct, and Bell indeed had something to do with it by traveling to Orario far earlier. I am trying to decide when the Alfia/Zald interlude will happen and how that will take shape, though I think I have a decent idea as to how the whole Evilus thing will play out. I haven't watched the Astrea Record thing, so this will pretty much be all original content, something I've been trying to do instead of riding the rails of canon as many other Danmachi stories have done. Whether or not it will be better is yet to be seen. lol
Though Bell is going back into the Dungeon, this time to gather the Valmarth, a magic ore on the level of Nosteel and the rest, to fulfill a large order from the Dwarven kingdom to the North of Orario. Valmarth, for those of you who don't know, in this AU is a magical metal that is aligned with Dwarves and Beastkin, and works best with them. I think this is canonical as well (Hihiirokane prefers Far Easterners, Heroic Alloy prefers heroic types and Elves, Valmarth prefers Dwarves and Beastkin), and if there is anything ya'll know about my Danmachi fics is that there is a certain floor that has a boatload of Valmarth located quite conveniently next to one of the best training spots for Level 3s and 4s in the Dungeon… the Eternal Battlefield, the Colosseum in the White Palace! Much grinding awaits!
Also, coming up with hilarious dialogue for the Denatus' is also hard. lmao. Though it could just be that its early and I'm tired. ha ha
Chapter 12 - Colosseum Preparations
[Bell Winters]
'The Colosseum'.
Just the word evokes a certain thrill deep within the bones of all who hear its name- an arena of combat where one's mettle is tested to its very limits while thousands upon thousands of onlookers share in the exaltation of martial prowess.
Though it isn't exactly a true colosseum, as it was lacking curated fights and a roaring crowd, what lay on the 37th Floor of the Dungeon was indeed a monument to martial skill through its grueling, endless battles.
My first foray into the utter madhouse that was the 37th Floor was necessitated by a large purchase order of Valmarth weapons from the Dwarven kingdoms to the north. While they were currently saber-rattling with the Elves to the mountainous kingdom's immediate east and the Beastmen tribes of the west, it was plain to see that they were worried about Rakia's current military 'expedition' up and down the Corridor of Nations; the stretch of neutral ground spreading from east to west was the Ares', the God of War, stomping grounds where he threw his army of ten thousand strong Adventurers against anyone even thinking of poking their heads out of their current national borders. Most people seemed to believe that Ares was indeed a blood-thirsty warmonger beholden to his domain of armed conflict, but to me? I feel like he's a more stabilizing influence than anything else- Grandpa Zeus was keen to lecture me on some of the histories of the wider world outside of Orario, and from what he'd told me anytime a large war seemed to brew on the horizon between the various nations surrounding Orario the God of War was there to exhaust any instigators before full-scale conflict could be brought about.
Everyone on the national stage seemed to keep wary eyes on each other, but when the massive army that belonged to Ares made a foray outside of its borders everyone turtled up and spent more time focusing on defending themselves instead of preparing to war on their neighbors.
To listen to the Dwarven crafters sent to entreat with the Hephaestus familia Rakia had grown more belligerent as of late with the rise of a handful of additional Level 2s and Level 3s within their ranks, and that had the Dwarven Kingdoms under the mountains worried that skirmishes would be inevitable. After considering this the Kingdoms decided to expand their stores of weapons capable of harming higher-leveled Adventurers more easily through their Endurance stats, and while the Dwarves had far fewer individuals naturally gifted with Magic than the Elves, they certainly had more mystically inclined soldiers than the humans, Beastkin, or Pallum; to take advantage of this they commissioned two hundred Valmarth weapons and paid my Goddess handsomely in Gold, Silver, and vast quantities of Low Steel ores mined from their mountains. It made a lot of sense seeing as Valmarth was a magical ore that more easily attuned and accepted Dwarven wielders, but we- as a familia- ran into a snag: we didn't have nearly enough Valmarth on hand to fill such a massive order.
Of course, we could have simply carried on with normal operations, lucking into the occasional Valmarth ore cluster in the lower-middle floors during our frequent expeditions with the Miach familia, but that would have seen us making blades piecemeal and stockpiling the finished weapons until we had a large enough batch to warrant shipping under armed guard to the north. That and when it came to any form of military planning, logistics was king, and while the Kingdoms wouldn't dare find fault with the slow build-up of weapons (as the order was considered a 'last minute' deal on their end), I wasn't too keen on taking a year or more to finish this order.
As the ranking member of the Hephaestus familia, I needed to ensure that we had our ducks in a row and could finish the order in a timely fashion so that my Goddess' promises weren't seen as lofty or ill-made.
Now that I think about it, this was probably a test on her part to see how I'd handle the pressure, but the joke was on her because I perform very well under stress!
So instead of just sitting around with our thumbs up our asses and waiting for Adventurers to sell ores to us or the Guild I decided that another expedition was in order- our target?
The Colosseum.
Or, well, the 'safe zone' just past the Colosseum.
The Guild had lots of helpful information about the Dungeon, from thorough a Monster Beastiary to detailed maps of each floor, and even loot tables and farming/mining locations of valuable drop items and ores. It gave me a good baseline level of knowledge that I could begin preliminary planning around while I picked the brains of the more experienced members of not only my familia but the Loki familia as well.
Yes, in the name of spending more time with everyone I decided to turn this into another multi-familia soiree, extending a hand to the other Big Five familias to have them join us in tackling this new expedition. I had expected some push-back, but I guess with the Training Expedition my dear Tsubaki-nee put together there was a certain 'bug' infecting everyone called jolly cooperation, and I couldn't be any happier to see it. More people meant more security, and with Evilus skulking around I wanted to have as many bodies with me as they had monsters.
The Freya Familia was sending along a small group of six highly experienced Level 3 archers led by a handsome human man by the name of Dustin Havemar, meanwhile, the Skadi and Inari familias were sending along four of their borderline Level 3s and a single Level 4. The Loki familia, much to their Goddess' chagrin, was coming as well with Aiz, Tiona, and Tione filling out our expedition's ranks with a Level 5 heavy hitter to act as our spotter. Miach was sending his sole Level 3 along with Naaza and a few other Level 2s that joined us frequently during our joint expeditions, if only have some healers and support Adventurers who could Mix potions in the field with materials we would gather on the way down.
I extended the offer to Goibnu and Kagu-Tsuchi familias, but only the Captain of the Kagu-Tsuchi familia- one Takeo Miyamoto- opted to come with as the rest of his familia was too low-leveled to head down as deep as we were.
Of course, while everyone would get a chance to fight while being watched over by stronger Adventurers, there was a requirement that anyone attending be ready and able to defend themselves; I didn't expect a Level 2 to fight the Level 3 and 4 monsters we would encounter in the lower floors, but what I did expect was for them to be able to stay alive long enough for someone to rescue them. Contrary to popular belief, meeting a higher leveled monster wasn't an immediate death sentence, and the Loki and Freya familias proved this every time they went down for one of their expeditions- Level 2s and Level 3s often made up the shield walls they used to keep even Level 4 and 5 monsters at bay, so staying alive just long enough for the largest threat to our dive to be handled was definitely possible.
Asfi was also going to be joining us, which necessitated me buying another idea notebook because I had a feeling if I wasn't mending weapons with the other blacksmiths then I would be spending time with her coming up with some new ideas for Mystery crafting.
I had a lot of fun enchanting the forges around the Hephaestus smithing district, and I'd like to see my current rapport with my fellow crafter continue to grow.
So the current plan for the expedition was to travel down to the 37th Floor and set up shop in the safe zone after the Colosseum, and the reason we were going down there was that the safe zone was home to the single largest renewable source of Valmarth ore in the entirety of the Dungeon. A crystal clear lake filled a massive cavern, and in the center of that lake was an island connected by two land bridges- one bridge came from the Colosseum and the other led to the entrance to the 38th Floor. Located smack dab in the middle of that island was a large crystal spire that almost reached the ceiling of the cavern, and growing off of this spire were Valmarth ore nodes in the hundreds… possibly more.
To hear the Adventurers who'd been down past the 37th Floor, despite the inherent value of the Valmarth ore nodes, with each one fetching a pretty valis, the weight and bulk of the nodes themselves made them a poor prospect for bringing back to the surface- after all, when faced between lugging drop items and ore nodes the Adventurers would almost always choose to bring the drop items and monster cores as they were worth more money. Though those poor sods were limited by their carrying capacity, and between Asfi and myself we were able to make a lot of HammerSpace supporter packs that could carry insane amounts of loot relative to their size; just one of my bags was able to carry almost an entire wagon's load worth of loot, and after some logistical gaming we could fit eight supporter packs per wagon.
Technically it was ten per wagon, but the other two packs were relegated to carrying the expedition's supplies, so we could only carry eight wagons worth of loot per wagon.
Truly, we would be absolutely starved for space.
Po' widdle us.
Lol.
So, go down to the 37th Floor. Mine Valmarth. Train like Mad Lads against the infinitely spawning monsters of the Colosseum. Collect lots of sweet loot to craft with. Build inter-familia relations through a shared bond and combat-related camaraderie. Spend time with the girls. Profit. Though I'd just come back from the Dungeon just under two months ago I was definitely feeling a touch antsy since my dives were curtailed to just six-hour stretches three to four days a week depending on my workload, and all of that time was spent mentoring. Needing to put my money where my mouth was in terms of 'Team Contributions' I no longer solely dedicated my time to Naaza, Liliruca, Khemi, and Sooka- I had plenty of Level 1s to train and help bring up to speed, though I felt I was handling them a touch softer than what my Tsubaki-nee did for me.
On 'even' days we did some training in the yard in the Hephaestus compound, while on 'odd' days we went into the Dungeon. The crop of six Adventurer Smiths that were considered 'passable' in our craft by my senpais were looking to make Level 2 for the Blacksmith developmental ability meant that we were hanging around the 10th through 14th floors to get them used to fighting more durable monsters and pack tactics- both those used by monsters and Adventurers to survive said monsters.
True to form, my kohai were used to solo Adventuring, or at best going down in pairs, so they followed the general guidelines of finding a Floor where they were comfortable with and accruing experience while occasionally delving deeper to encounter new monsters or larger groups. So when they began diving in a rather large group of six it was a genuinely horrible experience for all involved, though that was by design- take six Adventurers who've only worked in pairs and toss them into the deep end to see how they handle the sudden shift in dynamics. It showed me just what type of person they were when the chips were down, who took up a leadership role (or tried to), and those who were more willing to support.
More importantly, it showed them just how different fighting as a group was versus their solo or paired dives- teamwork and coordination were key in operating as a group. Making sure that everyone got a chance to fight and could keep fresh, rotating members around so they weren't performing the same role in the party over and over again, and learning the strengths and weaknesses of each other added a whole lot to what was normally a simple process: 'Kill monsters (while not getting killed yourself) - Collect Loot - Profit' was something that everyone could understand, but adding those new dynamics- even if they were simple on their face- really changed how they saw the Dungeon.
Suddenly there was a whole new level of dimensionality that they had to contend with, and for some, it was just something they needed to get used to, and for others, it was a bit of a struggle… especially when they weren't used to giving or following orders.
It didn't help that the Level 1s I was currently working with my senpais to mentor were mostly teens that were either in my training group when I was learning to become a blacksmith or were from the year groups ahead of mine. Himiko Underhill was one of the… more difficult members of the six to teach. She had been thirteen years old when she went through the training group with me while I had been nine, which meant that she was now almost eighteen years old; four years as a Level 1 hadn't done her confidence any favors in the meanwhile I had seemingly soared right past her as both an Adventurer and as a Smith. So she put her insecurities and embarrassment behind a near-impenetrable wall of bravado so thick that it was causing friction with the others.
She was a good blacksmith when compared to the rest of our peers, though a lot of that could be laid at the feet of her parents and the knowledge and training they imparted to her before she joined the Hephaestus familia to make her own way; her Dwarven mother and Far Eastern father were both Level 2 smiths with the Kagu-Tsuchi familia and their tutelage gave her a significant leg up against the rest of the competition that was made up of primarily poor, illiterate orphans living in the Hephaestus Smithing District. In our group only I could give her some serious competition, but considering by that point I'd already been accepted into the familia I was considered a non-factor and ignored in favor of continuing her studies. Though with Liliruca's quickly rising star in the familia Himiko's once secure position as the 'Second Best' Junior Smith was now in jeopardy, and she developed quite a complex over it.
While I didn't want to say she was blindly lashing out… her developing attitude was starting to attract the wrong kind of attention.
She was already known for being oddly self-assured when it came to her prowess as a Smith, even if she was working on a project that was outside of her comfort zone, and she abhorred asking anyone for help if she was struggling… and heaven forbid you offered some unsolicited advice or the girl might be liable to try and chew your head off! According to the other Apprentice smiths it made even sharing a workspace with her a trying ordeal, and her snide remarks made no one feel comfortable even diving into the Dungeon with her, which forced her to go Solo, which slowed down her progress even more, which frustrated her even more, which caused her attitude to worsen, and so on and so forth.
It was a steadily compounding issue and one that needed to be quickly corrected lest she find herself an island.
Despite being a nominal peer because of our similar amounts of time in the familia, I was both her senpai in smithing and Adventuring, so it fell to me and my men to try and change her downward trajectory; even if I would have rather washed my hands of her and let her seal her own fate, if there is one thing that my time in the Dungeon City has taught me is that familia doesn't let familia crash and burn. At least not without making a concerted effort to help- just like you can't choose your family, the individual member doesn't choose their familia either, and if my Goddess saw some potential in Himiko then I'd be doing them both a disservice if I didn't put forth my best effort.
Though, to be clear, I wasn't going to grab the grown woman by the hand and drag her to the trough to drink as if she were a stubborn horse; that way led to a lot of ass pain, and it wasn't as if she was so far gone that she was hated or anything. The boys liked looking at her well enough, as some of her father's Far Eastern lineage softened her more masculine Dwarf traits enough to make her conventionally attractive- n-not that Dwarf women weren't attractive in their own rights, it's just that I wouldn't be happy to sit next to a woman who could potentially grow a better beard than I could.
I had a pretty damn good beard in my last life, but I had the feeling that Bell Cranel would always be perpetually baby-faced, even as a man fully grown; I'd just have to settle for being a pretty boy with a manly man's body, which wasn't so bad.
Still, Himiko would be a work in progress for probably some time to come, and while it was a nice distraction from my typical paperwork duties I was far more interested in maintaining my progress. Getting back into the Dungeon for a real expedition and testing myself in the Colosseum would be a very nice change of pace from the hum-drum of being the acting familia Captain.
It definitely wasn't because I was antsy about Tsubaki-nee being gone for so long or anything!
She'd been gone for almost six weeks now and I hadn't heard anything about the expedition, but with the sheer amount of supplies they took with them, they could easily stay down there for three months before feeling the pinch. I went down there for two months with Vornir-oji and Asfi and we were still sitting pretty on our rations and consumable supplies thanks to our frequent drops into Riveria, though Tsubaki-nee and her training group wouldn't have that luxury.
Regardless, there wasn't much I could do for her- as she was on her own Adventure- and sitting down on my duff on a pagoda and enjoying the sunshine while uselessly waiting for Baki-nee to come back like the cool, conquering hero she was just… wasn't my style.
So instead I busied myself, moving about where and when I was needed, and kept things in tip-top shape for her eventual return, at least that was what I had been doing until the order from the Dwarves arrived; that put me back in my element. Planning for an expedition wasn't exactly a joy, as paperwork and running logistics tables were never a fun task, but it did give me something to do that wasn't merely maintaining what my forebears laid the foundations for- there were plenty of Senior Smiths that weren't going on the expedition to foist the work off onto, which left me free to do what I needed.
Horses and Carriages needed to be attended to and inspected, rations needed to be procured, waterskins inspected, weapons, armor, and the raw materials needed to mend them in the field with the mobile forges. That also brought along extra needs, such as coal and scrap wood to tend to those forges. I was also busy making and enchanting the bags we would use to ferry all these supplies into, as well as potion rings that I would be selling to my members at a very steep discount.
Then? Then I had to tend to my own needs as an Adventurer.
My equipment after my previous dive was a complete wreck. Everything had been torn up, chewed up, gashed, and mended so many times that it was more hole than not- and when I ran out of leather cordage to mend the cuirass the problems only grew. Of the three complete sets of armor I brought with me, all three of them were consigned to be scrap materials- except for one, which would go on a mannequin in my home for my future children to enjoy… and hopefully serve as a very stark, physical reminder of just how dangerous the Dungeon can be.
If their super strong, super awesome Papa who was a Level 3 at 13 years of age could get that messed up then they better be careful!
So I was hard at work on my off time with Liliruca building out another set of armor that should hopefully be more sturdy.
A 70/30 Light Metal/Damascus blend was chosen for the metal components of my new build, which made it nice and light while giving it a bit more durability with the Damascus. Honestly, I would have preferred more Damascus since I could easily handle the extra heft, but the higher Damascus content made enchanting it much more difficult, so I made up for the lesser durability but Insert forging a small pile of Glideosaurus bones, which made it even lighter and much more durable; I could have a very thin plate attached to the Goliath Hide cuirass and not have to worry about any issues with survivability. It was a huge investment in terms of value from the Drop Items used in the build alone, but considering I earned the items myself and didn't have to pay the outrageous prices? And I was making it myself?
Well, the only thing it cost me was time. That and I had to do a few favors for Miss Trisha Gothold, the Captain of the Arachne familia, for some help in designing my new outfit- I didn't want to lean into the Proto-Saber look quite yet, as it would look as though I was riding the coattails of my success with the Aiz Lily set; once Aiz and I were more of a pair (be it friends or more) then I feel like I could take that leap. So for now I just went with something exceptionally useful with a bit of unique styling that wouldn't compromise my ability to live in a tense fight, though I did take a white and black color scheme with red accents to honor the boy Bell could have been.
Black pants with Goliath Hide chaps (it was pretty thin, so I wasn't an assless-chapped cowboy!), a black Goliath Hide cuirass with white metal plating, with matching forearm, shin, and knee protectors. The bit of red came from the dark red sleeves of the combat shirt that went over the Light Metal/Damascus chainmail romper that terminated right past the knees to prevent chaffing and bunching where the armored boots and shin guards met; it would hopefully protect me from getting taken off at the knees, and the small sacrifice to mobility was worth the trade-off in my opinion.
Just because I had a bunch of rings on my person filled with potions that could help me reattach my legs if they got taken off doesn't mean that I want to ever be in a situation where losing the leg was the lesser of two evils. I preached positioning and situational awareness for just that purpose- hard to get de-limbed if you're not in a position to be de-limbed… though if I ever got into a fight with someone beyond me, sacrificing the leg to take their head just might be the play. Though I'd cross that bridge if I ever got to it.
The only thing I didn't do was enchant my new Nosteel weapons with Durandal, and that was because I didn't feel like paying an eye-watering price for it… especially since once I got finished with this expedition Hephaestus-sama would begin holding the Mithril Certification seminars soon after. I could get certified to make my own Mithril weapons and could properly put valis down on some solid equipment for the absolute slog that I was sure Level 5 was going to be. Aiz spent something like two whole years at Level 5 without growing much if at all, but I felt that a lot of that had to do with her over-use of her Ariel magics making even killing the Level 5 monsters of the 50th Floor and below almost effortless.
Four Nosteel Winter's-Pattern Longswords Insert forged with Bloodsaurus fangs gave me plenty of cutting power and durability for the monsters we would be facing at the Colosseum, and the fangs meant that it would hold its edge far longer than normal; I'd debated making a mace to deal with the rocky exteriors of the Obsidian Soldiers but during one of the planning sessions with the members of the Loki familia that would be attending I should be able to punch them to death easily enough without needing to worry about dulling or chipping my blades. Though the Spartoi would be a bit of a threat depending on how many of them spawned on the platform- their shields and weapons were known to damage the weapons of Adventurers who didn't equip themselves properly.
The monsters on the 37th Floor were some of the most plentiful variety-wise, with wildly different body types and fighting styles, and vastly different strengths and weaknesses. This meant that unless you had a generous Stat Point or Level advantage then the smart Adventurer packed an offensive kit that could handle these threats more readily- where an Adventurer might have become confident with his long sword, an Obsidian Soldier's tough exterior might prove a difficult monster to surmount. An Adventurer seasoned with their twin daggers might have triumphed with speed and skill over a Loup Garou or Barbarian would struggle with the poisonous thorn-like quills of a Peluda- a spear might have served them better. And a full melee Adventuring party might find themselves struggling to pin down the near-invisible, fleeting attacks of the Skull Sheep as they fired bone-like projectiles deep within the frothing melee on the Colosseum's platform where an experienced archer could have picked them out in the crowd and 'gunned' them down so to speak.
I carried a long sword, a short sword, twin Nosteal daggers Insert forged from Packosaur claws, and two Damascus steel backup blades in my boots should everything else go to shit. For range, I had my newly fashioned Chantwood bow (which set me back many, many millions) with multiple quivers of arrows fashioned from Bloodsaurus fangs or Glidesaurus bones depending on whether I needed penetration or range, speed, and accuracy. Then there was the good old Songwood staff that I had, though it was short and more useful as an Eskrima stick should things get so bad that I have to take that out. I had a very good all-round kit, and adding a mace to it would be an additional complication that I didn't need, not to mention it could likely mess up my balance, which I would have to get accustomed to since my loadout hadn't really changed in a number of years.
The biggest time sink was the chainmail, and it made me wonder if there was anything I could do to speed this along because making every single one of those fine links over and over and over again was enough to tax my patience… even if it was being bolstered by my Skill.
Honestly, the only thing that made making the chainmail bearable was having Liliruca by my side in the forge. She was trying her hand at creating her very own weapons and it was just a treat! My Pallum love waffled a lot between wanting to ask questions or get advice and not wanting to disturb the machine-like 'stitching' of Light Metal/Damascus that I was doing.
She was just so cute! I had never been one to care about the Moe trends of my previous life, but the way she looked between her project and me with indecision on her face was just absolutely precious. Torn between 'doin' it 'erself like a right propa' smith' and 'bothering me' shouldn't have been such a huge ordeal for her, but it was, and I took plenty of breaks to lend her my ears and offer what she was looking for.
I wanted to pick her up and stick her in my back pocket so that I could carry her with me everywhere I went.
Not that I did, mind you, I have some self-control!
A lot of self-control considering the way Liliruca and I were waking up in the morning these past few weeks.
Which was swiftly become a thing now- Liliruca was no longer stealing away into my bed every once in a blue moon, nay, she was growing quite bold! Slipping into my bed wearing only her sleeping dress… I wanted to play with her just as much as she was wanting to play with me, but I couldn't fool around in the district's dormitories so that led me to where I am now.
House hunting.
Considering the prices of real estate in Orario I decided that I would settle on a somewhat smaller home and then upgrade once all of my marriages were finalized; I had four confirmed betrothed in my Werewolf women, two all-but confirmed betrothed in Liliruca and Naaza (and I needed to get some rings made for them to make that official, though the Werewolves would likely be adamant that Naaza and Lili make me betrothal totems fashioned from the horns of a deer or elk they'd slain as was tradition), and Tiona was shaping up to be a happy, giggly wife number seven, with Tione and Aiz being potential eight and nine.
If Hermes managed to find Haruhime then that would likely be number ten… and if I managed to capture Tsubaki-nee's heart then that would make eleven.
Holy shit. Eleven wives. Grandpa Zeus will be over the moon once he hears about this.
And as for Hephaestus-sama, well, she was the 'hidden route' waifu that I'd capture once everyone else was secured- attempting to do more when I was already stretched so thin was the height of foolishness. Besides, I feel like I could wear my Goddess down over time without having to do much at all, just as I had inadvertently done with my sweet Baki-nee.
That meant that I would eventually need individual rooms, as the Pack Wives would make their own schedule, and sleeping in a massive bed had a lot of logistics to it, I would need rooms for all of the babies that were sure to come because my pull-out game was Weak .
Though for now I just needed one with four bedrooms- Khemi and Sooka were more than happy to share as they were already roommates in their familia dorms, the Master bedroom for where I'd sleep (and for pre-marital shenanigans), and Naaza and Liliruca would get their own rooms. I don't know what familias Shiro and Kuro would join when they arrived here, but I would think that given their Werewolf natures, they'd either join Skadi as their big sisters did or the Lupo familia; I knew that Skadi had rules that required Level 1s to stay in the dorms for accountability and training, but I didn't know if Lupo had the same. It would be a few years yet before we all married, as I wanted to wait for Kuro and Shiro to enter adulthood at 15-
"Oh, what about this one, Arjuuni?" Khemi, or 'Brownie', spoke as she leaned over my shoulder to glance down at the floor plan for one of the homes that were available for sale.
Khemi, Sooka, Liliruca, Naaza, and I were at the satellite Guild office to browse the homes that were currently on the market- the smaller office handled individual sales while the main Guild office handled the buildings meant to house familias. While not all sellers listed their homes with the Guild, as they charged a small finder's fee if their listing was chosen through them, the simple fact that so many people passed through the Guild each day meant that finding a prospective buyer was far higher than if they simply posted a sign out in front of their home. That and the people who came through the Guild's doors most often were Adventurers, and they earned a great deal more valis delving into the Dungeon, so that combined with the 'Zero Haggling' policy the Guild has it means that if you sold your house through them you'd get the full listing price minus the fees.
The Guild also had a small banking operation that provided fairly low-interest rate loans so that Adventurers who were looking to move out of their familia facilities could do so sooner rather than later; one just needed to be in good standing with the Guild and the familia- and have a good earnings history with one's dives.
Considering my wealth I wasn't in need of any banking services, as while real estate wasn't exactly cheap, it wasn't the most expensive either. A three-bedroom, one-bathroom house in a good district with a small side and backyard ran around $800,000 valis, which considering my bow drained my account in the familia vault almost $45 Million for one capable of supporting me up to Level 5 buying a house was likely one of the cheapest things I could buy at this stage of my life.
Kind of funny, really.
I took a moment to admire my betrothed's graceful hand, taking note of the thick callouses that had been built up by her hard work, before I looked down at the floor plan in question. It had ten bedrooms, four full bathrooms, a formal dining room, and a rather generous yard; listed at $5.5 Million valis it wasn't much higher in the price per square foot category than the others we'd been looking at, and the amenities listed were rather nice. Though it was a bit big for what we needed now, the location was pretty good- the home was part of a walled-off division where some smaller Crafting familias had banded together, roughly a kilometer and a half north of Tower Babel. On First Avenue, the same main thoroughfare that the Twilight Manor sat on, it was centrally located and almost equal in distance between the Hephaestus Smithing District and the Blue Pharmacy and the Miach familia's steadily growing compound.
"It looks pretty nice, Khemi," I said, and I could feel her tail swishing happily as I leaned over and more carefully examined the floor plan as well as the sketch of the exterior, "Since its part of a Crafting familia sub-district I don't think they'd have any issues with me setting up a personal smithy in the back yard; there are already two nicely sized stone sheds that would be perfect for Liliruca and myself."
"And a few trees and lots of green grass," Sooka, Blacki, cut in, the woman leaning into my side, her head coming down to rest on my shoulder as her cool nose dipped into the hollow behind my ear, "Plenty of space for all of our babies to run about and play~."
I felt my cock twitch in my pants at the mental image of a bunch of Werewolf children running about- some with hair and fur of snow and others with ruby-red eyes- and I wasn't the only one to blush as the Guild clerk assisting me looked away slightly, a nearly silent whisper on her lips, "Kids these days are starting so young!"
I swallowed thickly and tapped at the binder, "It is a bit bigger than we need right now, girls."
The two Werewolf women huffed in unison, but it was Sooka that admonished me lightly with a quick nip on my earlobe, and she pulled away with a small, wry smile on her face, "Truly, Arjuei, you are always so forward-thinking with most things, and yet for something such as our home you are being particularly thick. You have four betrothed now, with another two that will be joining us shortly, and another two that are amenable. There are most certainly others that have caught your eye, and because of that this much space is the bare minimum."
Naaza's sleepy expression watched the by-play between the Werewolves curiously, her floppy ears twitching, and after a moment she spoke, "That and I would not wish to move into a place, make it my home, and then pick up and move a few years later to a new place."
"That and we'll need at least two rooms for guests, Bell-sama," Liliruca interjected and though she wilted for a moment when everyone's attention turned to her she perked back up as the two Werewolves nodded.
"Yes, Sister-Lili is correct, Arjuuni," Khemi looked at me with her hazel eyes, "Our parents will no doubt wish to travel to Orario to visit their Grandchildren, and while the accommodations are more lavish than what we have in the tribes I would not be happy to put them up in one of the taverns."
Sooka hummed in agreement, "Yes, the city will no doubt be overwhelming for them- they wouldn't be able to relax properly in unfamiliar surroundings."
A small laugh escaped my lips as I reached out to grip their hands and gave them a good squeeze, "Alright, we'll put it on the shortlist, but let's at least look at the rest of the offerings first."
I looked back at the Guild Clerk without a Name as I let go of Khemi's hand to tap at the price, noting that it had been marked down a few times, "Any particular reason it's been marked down?"
The Clerk cleared her throat before speaking, "Well, the District itself is very nice and very safe, being far away from Daedalus and rather close to the tower. Though given its odd positioning there aren't a lot of markets, so it will be a bit of a walk either to 1st Avenue's Midway Market roughly three and a half kilometers away from Babel, or a one-and-a-half kilometer walk to the markets near Babel itself. 1st Avenue also doesn't have a lot in the way of entertainment or eateries aside from the stalls, and its position puts it on the opposite end of the city from the Entertainment District. The only notable amenities are its proximity to the Clothing District a few minutes walk away, but considering where the smaller Crafting familia's have their locations it is a given."
"Alright, but I get the feeling that isn't the whole story?" I pressed gently and she shook her head.
"No, that isn't all of it. The thing that most buyers in this price range are looking for is proximity to nice amenities and privacy, and this location unfortunately doesn't have much of either. The property is surrounded by the district's primary wall, which is watched by a rotating guard of the familias living there, but no further walls may be added that are higher than waist height and cannot be solid as thieves often use them for cover. Not that the district gets many thieves, mind you, but a picket fence is typically what is seen there, mainly as demarcating lines between properties. Though the Neighborhood Watch has five paces of space claimed near the wall as part of the Covenant, and this property has a small guard tower up on the wall overlooking it, which is something considered unattractive for most buyers," The Clerk tugged at her gloves a few times before she finished out, "Finally, the primary street is rather busy as the Crafting familias move their supplies and products around at all times of the day to keep their store shelves stocked. There are lots of horses, mules, and other beasts of burden, and while the cart drivers are meant to clean up after their animals that doesn't always happen, and horse urine has a rather pungent scent even after it has been washed down into the sewers; I've been told the hotter days can be rather unpleasant, though if you put a little bit of work in keeping the street in front of your home clean then I'm sure you'll be able to avoid such unpleasantness… the previous owners just didn't care to lift a finger."
I crossed my arms over my chest and leaned back in the booth while looking at the ceiling.
I for one didn't particularly mind a busy street, as I lived in a busy smithing district, and if anything it might be a touch quieter than usual. Also, animal waste was a fact of life here in Orario, though with the magical sewer system, it was easy enough for a cart driver to grab his dung shovel and scrap the feces off into the storm drains where it would be broken down into mana. I suppose the biggest problem for me would be the small guard tower posted on the corner of the property- it wasn't as though I didn't appreciate having a guard service that I likely wouldn't have to pay for, but that also meant that the number of back porch/back yard sexcapades that could happen would be heavily restricted.
If one of my girls wanted to watch me having sex that was fine, but it would be another thing entirely when it was some dude or dudette sitting up in a guard tower.
When I opened my eyes I looked back at the Clerk, "Is there anything else?"
None of those were dealbreakers in my book, and at that price with the amenities listed, the spot had a lot going for it.
"Well, the only other thing is that the neighbor is a touch… eccentric. She's an older woman that enjoys her peace and quiet, and her reclusive nature and magic items often caused the previous owners no small bit of grief."
Ow, now that might be a dealbreaker. I had an old lady next door when I was growing up and she was mean as a snake to us kids- I wouldn't want to subject my children to such a thing if I could help it.
"Well, I suppose we could look at the rest of these and then go out and meet with the old lady later-" I started and all four of my wives-to-be reached out and took hold of my hand.
""""We like this one.""""
Well, shit, alright then.
I knocked on the door to the house a few times with enough force that it could be heard but not loud enough to be annoying. I hated noisy knockers.
It took a few moments before I heard some scrabbling behind the door, and the heavy oak opened up just a crack to show me a familiar long, warty nose and greedy, beady eyes. "Huh? Who dare bothers me-!? Ah, Bell-kun, coming to my home now, are we? Couldn't help but want to spend more valis, eh? Ehehehehehehehe."
I blinked a few times before a small smile came up on my lips, "No, Lenoa, actually we were thinking about purchasing the house next door to hear, and when I was told about a miserly old cheat living next door I thought I'd swing by to see if she was a miserly old cheat that I knew."
"Heh, 'miserly', probably one of the nicest things anybody's ever said about me!" The old woman pushed her door back a little bit further, "Though anyone who'd call me that just doesn't know the proper price for expensive magical items! Anyway, since I've got you here boy, there is an idea that I've been thinking about for a Mystery Enchantment and I'd like to get your input on it…"
"I'm honestly surprised you don't live in your shop," I chuckled as I shook my head, "I'd love to talk shop with you, especially seeing as you've got a job in mind- the sooner I get those favors I owe you off my ledger the better I feel- but I'm currently in the middle of assessing the property with my family…"
Lenoa the Witch tilted her head to the side and she shuffled out of the front door, shutting it firmly behind her so that she could walk out onto her porch, her beady eyes assessing my women who were standing in a neat little line. A reedy, whispy laugh escaped her lips as she scratched at her chin, "Oh, laddie, you certainly don't do things by halves, do you? I had heard you were a little womanizer, but this display of beauty before me is quite nice. So many pretty little flowers."
Khemi and Sooka seemed to preen at the praise, with the black-furred Werewolf puffing out her chest in pride, "And we aren't the only ones our dear has captured the hearts of. More women will be joining the pack, and we will be fruitful and strong."
"Oh? What's that? More you say?" The old biddy reached up and pinched my thigh, causing me to flinch away from her nobby and surprisingly strong fingers, "I'd say you were a chip off the old block, Cranel, but it looks to me that you're quite a bit more successful than your old man was. I'm sure your Grandfather is quite proud."
Before I even had time to process exactly what it was she said the old woman patted my arm and shuffled back into her house and the door shut behind her.
"Do be a dear and come by the shop when you get the chance, I've got a few new Healing Spells from Magic Town that you might be interested in! Heheheheheh~!" Her voice seemed to emanate from everywhere around me, causing my skin to pebble just from the sheer creepiness of the horror movie vibe.
No wonder someone who didn't really know Lenoa would find her eerie to live next door to, though considering I have spent a great deal of time around her I knew that, at the very least, any future Winters babies running around wouldn't be in danger.
I looked back to my girls and while Khemi and Sooka were standing there happy as clams, I could see the questions clearly written on Naaza and Liliruca's faces.
No doubt I'd have to tell them sooner or later of my lineage, and from what I knew sooner was almost always better than later. Though that time obviously wasn't now.
"Shall we get on with the tour?"
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A/N: A bit of a transitional chapter as we see Bell preparing another expedition into the Dungeon, this time not for training but resource collection. That and now that he's becoming older and more active he doesn't quite feel comfortable having his marriage quite so visible- mainly with the words being spoken about the smithy as Liliruca becomes more bold as time passes by, sneaking into his room and bed. We'll be seeing some sweet, sweet, almost-married shenanigans next chapter, as Bell is almost 14 now and he's steadily growing into quite the handomse young man. The girls in question will want to have a taste, but with the vows of chastity being taken they need some way around the loopholes. Luckily, this world provides answers to those seeking carnal knowledge. Lmao.