"One"

"Two"

"And thre-" Ragnar was ready to strike down the giant ant but a spear pierced through its belly and destroyed the crystal that was lodged within the body, turning the creature into dust in an instant. "Hey, that was mine!"

"Just because you are unexperienced it does not mean I will let you get all of the monsters. If anything you are a support."

"As if! "

"But look at you! " Brynhildr pointed at the captain with her spear. "We are what? Thirty to fifteen? Sixteen maybe? And your friend only got three because you let him have the killing blow."

"His name's Noel, and I'm making sure to keep him safe while he is also getting his share unlike you who is more experienced and can easily do it. Are you really a level one? "

"You seemed surprised, the Odin Familia has a strict training regime to keep everyone at the top of their abilities. So yes, I am a level one adventurer with the discipline of a level three. Any more questions? "

"Yeah, have you ever been nice or is that your usual attitude? "

"Hmph." The girl pouted and turned around, hitting Ragnar in the head with the back of the spear, the next thing they heard was a little giggle, the blond on the other hand clicked his tongue and wiped some of the blood from the axes.

"Captain, don't worry about me, I can dodge all of those attacks." The white haired smiled.

There was no doubt that the two members of the Skadi Familia were deeper into the Dungeon, the 9th floor was new for the young one but for both Ragnar and Brynhildr it was just another visit, albeit a dangerous one.

Bryn was far more experienced than the two and thus got the highest kill count of the two in this visit, on top of that she didn't looked tired at all. There was a stark difference between amateur adventurers and someone who had plenty of visits to the Dungeon under their belt. Noel was definitely amazed by the brunette's ability to eliminate any threat quickly while the captain already showed signs of annoyance.

"Can you at least try not to show off? We are trying to get better as well."

The other warrior sighed and sat on a rock, putting the spear right next to her as she crossed her legs. "Fine, you want to fight the monsters? Go for it, don't come crying if they chew your arms off." Ragnar turned away from Bryn, moving his mouth and mocking her voice almost in silence. "What did you say?!"

"I said I got it…" Ragnar huffed and hear a strange noise coming from deeper in the cave.

The heavy footsteps were threatening, a small shadow in the distance that soon turned bigger with every step. It was taller than Noel and Ragnar and as it got closer they had to slowly take a step back.

It was a tall monster, it had a humanoid body but the head of a pig; its round body didn't allow much movement but yet it had some strength as it dragged a club around.

"An orc?! I thought the books said they would appear on the 10th floor! " Noel's legs were shaking, he tried to move away from the monster but he could not respond. It was fear that he has never experienced before, not even when he ventured into the Dungeon on his own he felt this fear.

Ragnar had a similar feeling, albeit not showing it. His fingernails were carving on his skin, gripping the axe tighter than ever; his legs would not respond him either even if he tried to run away. The only thing his body and mind were able to muster was a quiet laugh, almost as if he feared this might be his end.

Quick footsteps came from behind and saw that Brynhildr stood before them. The tip of the spear was aimed straight at the orc.

"That's a lesser orc, not as strong but still deadly enough. It must found its way up here." The soldier of the Odin Familia did not show the same fear as the other two, yet they were worried that this was a challenge far bigger, despite her experience. "Listen, what I can do is buy all of us some time and then escape."

Ragnar was already worried and if Bryn was not able to handle it then this did nothing but to raise even more alarms in his head.

One side of him wanted to run away, make sure all of them would escape but the other…

"Can we beat it? "

"Captain? "

"Are you crazy?! You want to fight something beyond your range?!"

"No, but in the event that we can't escape easily we will have to deal with it." The captain explained. The orc just looked back at them, as if analyzing its prey. "Bryn? "

There was some visible annoyance on the girl's face but its source was not the monster in front of them but the stubbornness of a certain blond.

"It's possible, but do not expect it to go unharmed if we have to."

The orc made a pig noise and raised its club, ready to shove the three adventurers out of the way.

Noel raised his arms to block the attack and so did Ragnar with the intention of a counterattack, but they did not notice that the adventurer in front of them was whispering something they could not understand.

She traced something in the air in front of her, a brown-yellow symbol that activated something. From the ground emerged a couple of rock pylons that hit the orc in the belly and almost made it stumble backwards, then it retracted back to the rocky floor.

"Go! "

All three turned around in an attempt to run but their efforts were for naught as they saw a big shadow behind. The orc was able to regain its balance and swung its club at the young one.

The boy knew there was nothing he could do to stop it or to block; he didn't have a reaction quick enough to dodge. He feared his body would crumble at the impact, or worse.

A quick death was something he preferred but of course it was better not do die, or so were the initial thoughts of his brain.

He tensed his muscles to try and `prepare´ himself for the attack but something stepped to his side.

Brynhildr already had the spear at the ready, crossing her arms in a very poor attempt to soften the impact.

The club hit its mark and sent the member of the Odin Familia flying like a sack of potatoes, however, she was not the only one that was affected by this since Noel was behind her and was also sent flying.

The two of them hit the wall but fortunately they were both alive. Noel coughed and yelped in pain as he tried to stand up, sadly he couldn't.

Brynhildr was the one that got the brunt of the attack. She was unconscious but still breathing, no blood on the floor but her left arm suffered the most as it was broken while the other hand was injured but still in a decent condition along with the spear.

Now it was Ragnar who was against up the orc, even if the spell from before was able to deal some damage to the monster, it looked unharmed.

There was no way out of this, even if he ran away would he leave Noel and Brynhildr to their own fate? Bryn was probably something he would consider but his teammate? And even then that is not what a hero would do.

Those were some of the questions that floated in his mind as he was facing the monster in front of him.

The pig-headed creature raised its club to try and crush Ragnar but he leaned forward and rushed at the monster; the axes were aiming to the side as he pushed forward and cleaved. There were two cuts made with the axe, they were not that deep but some of the blood started to come out.

The blond smiled at this small victory and quickly turned around to face the orc.

But that smile was short-lived. The elbow from the creature hit him just above the stomach, pushing out any air that he had. His ears rung, the sound of his ribs crackling and his lack of breath; the heart pulsing faster than ever as his eyes saw the elbow sinking deeper until he couldn't feel it anymore, not even the elbow but the ground below him.

For a moment he felt nothing, his legs not being able to touch the floor or his arms not moving at all. Was he dead? No, his vision was blurry but he could still discern the monster, the small strength he still had was on his hands, still gripping to both axes. He could feel the pain in his chest.

THUD

His back felt immense pain as he crashed against the wall, he could even hear the rocks breaking at the impact.

Someone without a blessing would've ended on the spot, but what's worse was that this was just a lesser orc. He could not believe that he was still not up to form to fight something like that, but how much training could he need? At what point would he consider himself strong?

He mustered as much strength as he could to try and stand up. His arms were shaking but what's worse was that he couldn't feel his fingers; he still had his weapons.

His back was killing him and breathing was difficult as ever, yet he needed to fight. He needed to protect Noel and save Brynhildr.

To be a hero.

To be stronger.

Ragnar saw the orc turning to him, there was a grim smile as it took step by step to try and approach him.

But his eyes went somewhere else, to the other two adventurers who were on the other side of this cave.

If he died then he couldn't be able to protect them, it would be the same as it happened to the miners in his absence, to what happened time ago.

Flashes of past events inundated his mind and vision. Moments where he felt helpless or weak that he wished things were different.

Screams of people were seared in his brain along with blood and fire; innocents killed and for what?

Ragnar could not keep himself standing, he fell to his knees as tears ran down his cheeks.

"Dammit…" He tried to get back on his feet but his legs were not responding. "This… is not how it's supposed to end…"

The orc was getting closer and his vision was getting more blurred by the second. He was cursing himself for not being able to even dent this thing. He was weak, he felt it and he despised it.

The monster stopped in front of him, raised its club but the hit never came, in fact there was no movement afterwards.

Ragnar raised his eyes to see the orc turn to dust as the crystal dropped to the ground. Behind the creature was a familiar view but the blond's vision turned to black before he could even say anything else.

Even in this darkness he felt that his body was being dragged away, muffled sounds of voices he heard before but could not put a name to it. He was in pain, tired or even dead! Or at least that's what he considered for a while in this darkness until the strain in his body was dwindling.

The pain in his chest and back was lesser, he could feel his arms and legs as well as some strength that was coming back.

Ragnar slowly opened his eyes only to have some water thrown at him, or rather some liquid.

"Ugh, what the…? " He wiped the liquid from his face and looked ahead.

Noel was sitting close to the captain, he was tired and with some bits of blood on his clothes, Brynhildr was sitting on a rock, holding an empty vial on her hands before she threw it to the side.

"Captain…" Noel huffed, "I'm glad you're back."

"What happened? " Ragnar looked at the boy before turning at her. "What happened to the monster? "

"I killed it, while it was focused on you I was used a potion and then I approached from behind."

"So you used me as a distraction…"

"What other option did I have? I told you it was dangerous and yet you decided to attack." Bryn clicked her tongue. "I even used a potion on you since your friend was almost to passing out from the healing. I don't think you have grounds to crit-…"

"Thank you."

"…icize…" But she remained surprised. "So you can be grateful, that's good to know. Unfortunately for you and your stubbornness, we'll be leaving. We are on the 7th floor so it should be easy navigating back to the surface.

"Here captain." Noel stood up and offered his hand to Ragnar but he declined and got up on his own. His body still feeling slightly sore. "You alright? " The fair haired also stood up, his body feeling more tired than anything.

"I should be asking you the same question." Ragnar chuckled, "alright, let's get out of here."

They all agreed and started to go the way they came in. The threats in the upper floors were far lesser than the orcs, ants and shadows so even if they had to fight it would be a walk in the park.

Out of the three, Brynhildr was the one that looked mostly unharmed. There were some bruises on her face and cuts in her cape but compared to the other two she was healthy.

"Hey, can I ask you something? " Bryn slightly turned her head at Ragnar, looking at him from the corner of her vision while still keeping an eye every now and then to the front. "Why did you save us? Like… you could have just ran away."

"I could have…" There was silence for a brief moment. "What would you have done in my place? "

"You know the answer, I'm just asking why you decided to save us."

There was another silence, this time awkward. Bryn was thinking about it as if it was some form of complicated question but she shrugged and looked once again to the front. "I don't know, I thought it was common sense to do it. Maybe I just wanted you to owe me a favor for the future. You are a captain, yes? That has some weight to it."

"Do they teach those kinds of things with your Familia? " This time it was Noel who brought up the question.

"Odin Familia can be ruthless, unforgiving but at the same time it's people you can rely on. But to answer your question: No, it is something I learned over the years. "

They continued their way out of the Dungeon; the few monsters that appeared were easily dealt with.

"Now it's my turn to ask you something. What happened to you back there? "

"What do you mean? "

"When you went down you were crying, not because your body gave in but because of something else."

"…" Ragnar didn't say anything but reflected on that memory. It was still hurting, not on a physical level which just made it worse. What could he even say about it? That he was weak and could not act? That he was too stubborn and decided to fight something that was way beyond his league? It was not about pride but about accepting that at this state he could not protect those he cared about, that all the effort he put so far meant nothing.

"I was crying because I couldn't move. I wanted to keep fighting but my body could not respond. Simple as that." A simple explanation for a simple lie, he did not expect Brynhild or Noel to believe it but he was not willing to talk about it either.

Their tired march led them to the surface, seeing the sun almost setting in the distance marked the end of another day of adventuring, even if it was not as smooth as any of them would have initially planned.

"I suppose this is the end of this cooperation." Bryn turned to face the two from the Skadi Familia. "Don't worry, I already took my cut from the potions I used on you two. Until then, stay out of trouble." The girl went her way only to be stopped by the blond calling her out. "What? "

"…" Ragnar bit his lip, unsure of what to say next. "Thank you."

"What for? "

"I guess for not letting us die." He shrugged. "You proved to me that I was wrong about you, I thought that at the first sign of a hopeless situation you would run away and let us die. It's every person for themselves, right? "

"Don't forget that you owe me a favor. I may not seem like it but I can be ruthless." The dark haired twirled the spear in between her fingers and caught it by the end. "Are you sure you two can return to your homes? "

"Yeah, don't worry." Ragnar smiled "Wow, I didn't expect you to worry about us."

But Bryn pouted. "I am going to be more aggressive with you then…"

"Thank you, Miss Brynhildr." The boy bowed, flinching at his still sore body.

"See? At least Noel is more polite than you. Anyways, I'm off."

"Hey, Bryn." The girl turned her head at Ragnar as she was about to leave. "I wouldn't mind if all three of us trained together again, just no difficult floors for a while, yes? "

"Mh… I'll think about it."

"Wait, where can I find you? "

"I don't know, you found me once, I'm sure you can do it again." And with those words, Brynhildr left Babel and headed down the street until neither Ragnar or Noel could see her anymore.

The blond sighed, his shoulder slumping and with almost no more energy, he just wanted to finish the day. "Well, what a day, huh? "

"Yeah… what do you think the goddess will say, captain? "

"Considering how bad we look? " They both looked down at their own bodies. Dirt, blood, bruises, and some swollen spots. "I think we'll be fine."

The two adventurers proceeded back to Fimbulvetr. Just as they expected they had to give Skadi a hefty explanation of what happened while omitting some details, still this did not help as the goddess felt worried all the way through their story.

After a bath, some bandages and a lot of rest, Ragnar and Noel finished that eventful day but the captain did not have an easy time sleeping. The episode in the Dungeon still repeated in his mind along with all the dead people that he saw.

Was he up for the task? Could he fulfill his goal in the city? Those questions loomed until his eyes closed shut and tiredness got the best of him.

By the time he woke up it was early morning, he put on his clothes and left his room. Noel's door which was usually slightly open every morning was closed meaning that he was still sleeping.

The blond left the inner sanctum and yawned, approaching the table at the mead hall.

"Good morning Ska-…" But she wasn't having breakfast.

"Oh, Ragnar. Over here." The goddess called out from a room that was next to the kitchen.

Ever since he arrived, that room was closed and had a lock but now it was open and Skadi was inside.

It was almost as big as his bedroom albeit with a thick layer of dust. There were two desks opposite to each other along with many bookcases full of scrolls, books and letters. On the floor there was the same snow flake emblem that represented Skadi and the Familia, all of it on that same thick layer of dust that adorned the rest of the room.

"Good morning Ragnar, how are you feeling? "

"I'm fine…" The captain walked into the office and looked around, "what is this? "

"Oh, it was my office along with the captain's back in the day but since… well, I saw no use in it. But recently I've been getting letters."

"So you considered it was a good idea to open the office again." The goddess nodded, going through her letters. Ragnar approached the empty desk, wiping and blowing some of the dust.

"Oh, Ragnar. I almost forgot. You got a letter, well, note."

"Huh? " The captain approached to Skadi's desk and saw that she presented him a note. Compared to the letters she had in her other hand this one was just simple "Who sent it? "

"I'm afraid I don't know, it just had your name on the front."

Curious, Ragnar grabbed the note and saw his name written with very fine details and clean penmanship. He knew that style.

"Esther."

"Sorry? "

"Ah, she's a girl from the Guild, I asked her for some information and told me that if she found it she would send me a note or something." He opened the small piece of paper.

The sound of the letters being shuffled along with Ragnar's humming as he was reading the note filled the office.

"So? " Skadi asked, tilting her head.

Ragnar nodded. "I'll have some quick breakfast and then I need to give something back to someone." He took another look at the note. "Um, goddess? "

"Yes? "

"Do you know where the Ganesha Familia is located? "


Alright, back in business. It really is difficult to write the story after editing all of the chapters which led me to a slump where I had no energy to write nor any ideas for the chapter, hence why it took me quite a while to update.

Still, to anyone who said about quotations it is now fixed on all of the chapters so it should (in theory) be readable.

In any case, thanks to everyone who's been following, favving and all of the reviews.

It has been a tiresome month for me but at least the year is ending. On top of that season 5 has been announced but I doubt it will come out early 2024.

With that being said, hope you have a great weekend and as always.

See you all in the next chapter!