Chapter 17: Ward

*Pomf*

Hit placed the lovingly crafted rucksack, gently, on the bed as he finally settled into his room in the Loki familia Mansion. He was on the third floor, with a large window giving him a stunning view of the morning dawn. A part of him was glad to be somewhere new, all to his own. It was a simple room: wooden bed, wardrobe, mirror, dresser. Apparently, he was lucky to get his own space, since, according to his guide, most had to bunk it until they reached level 2. Thankfully, he had not seen any of the higher-level members, although, some of the miscellaneous ones stared at him, questioningly.

The reason for the evident barrenness was obviously due to Hit's earliness. Many of the members also had a painful day of purchasing replacement weapons ahead of them, destroyed due to the corrosive caterpillars of the 50th floor. 'Today's orders of business: finally register fully at the guild; purchase some equipment; and start getting stronger.'

Hit grinned internally at the large coin sack he had withdrawn. "Time to finally get out of these plain, boring rags."

*ring*

Hit rang the golden bell at the guild counter and, a moment later, a brown-haired half-elf appeared.

"Ah! Hello, again Mr Hit. You certainly do appear at strange times."

Eina smoothed her hair a bit and straightened her clothes. "I suppose you're here to notify me of your success?" She had a hopeful look, being someone who truly cared for new adventurers.

"Correct, I was accepted at the Loki familia, yesterday evening. I will be proceeding into the dungeon momentarily." Hit was itching to go and made to walk towards his quarry, path fully memorised.

Eina dropped a pin she was about to place in her hair, looking quite annoyed. "W-wait! You can't just go down straight away! Not without an explanation, or an advisor!"

"I have done sufficient research. A few maps would be useful I suppose." Noting down where certain monsters spawned would be vital to grinding excelia, and would allow Hit to cut out the chaff.

"Ughhhh. I thought you would be more careful than this, Mr Hit. First, you must choose an advisor that suits you best. Perhaps you could return with a senior member of your familia, who knows you better? You are intending to delve in a party, correct? It would be best to be under the same advisor as them." Eina waved her finger around, looking like an extremely strict professor.

"No. I have made a deal with Loki to dive on my own. As for my 'advisor'... I would want someone professional and as knowledgeable on the dungeon as possible." Hit had underestimated the dungeon; he accepted that fact. Also, there were some queries that needed answering.

The elf stammered; why would Loki do something so risky, and so unfair to a newbie? "B-but that makes no sense! If you were the only member, then maybe... No, I still wouldn't recommend it! Please... I will visit Lady Loki and we can discuss your terms."

Hit slumped at that, nothing was ever easy for him. "Is there any way that I can convince you? It would be a tremendous waste of everyone's time, to go about this the long way."

'For crying out loud, just let me in!'

Eina crossed her arms; she was going to get to the bottom of this. "There must be a good reason as to why she made an exception for you, correct..."

Hit nodded.

"...and it is likely due to your falna..." She was getting warmer.

The boy nodded again, more seriously.

"...Alright, please follow me, Mr Hit. We can continue this discussion in private." His helper opened the barrier between them and proceeded deeper into the guild.

...

Eina continued to grumble as she led Hit to a small room, containing two large sofas and a wooden table, for documents and drinks. The two took their seats and stared at each other; neither was willing to give in.

Eina chose to begin, pushing up her small glasses. "Now then, I'm willing to hear out why Loki allowed such a ridiculous request. However, I still strongly recommend you form a party. There are very few downsides, and you will progress far more safely!"

Hit fixed her with a serious stare that gave her an eerie feeling. "It is due to my skill, one that I would only be willing to disclose to someone I trust fully."

Eina was not put off in the slightest, and looked at him, steadfast. "Of course, we are currently in private, and all guild workers swear an oath of confidentiality. I swear to you, on my life, that none of us would ever endanger our precious adventurers." Eina smiled next; it sounded like she would be getting another troublesome rookie. "And... if you're looking for someone knowledgeable and professional, I would say that I am one of the best candidates for your advisor. Would that please you, Mr Hit?"

Eina truly was an extraordinary advisor, dearly caring for her adventurers and fellow workers. The woman also had a slightly selfish reasoning; being Hit's advisor would grant her easy access to him, should Bell need support.

Hit thought for a moment and nodded. "If you can answer my questions about the dungeon, and continue to work as you have... then, yes, I choose you."

The boy also wasn't keen on having to meet all the other advisors today, such a waste of time. Eina did not seem like a bad choice, a little too strict, but he would not be interacting with her too much.

Eina beamed and held out a hand, which was promptly shaken by Hit, making sure not to use too much force. "Excellent! As of now you are a fully registered adventurer. I will fill out your paperwork after our meeting and verify your details with our contacts at the Loki familia. Welcome aboard!"

She settled back in her seat and interlocked her hands.

"Okay, let's hear what this skill is; I cannot let you descend, unless I believe it will keep you safe. It certainly must be a powerful skill if Loki was impressed. I promise to not tell a soul about it, as is the case with all the others I'm supervising. It won't be written down, and this room has sound dampening properties." Eina would be lying if she said that she wasn't excited. This was one of the highlights of her job: learning about the mythical skills and magic of adventurers.

Hit was not feeling so excited. 'The guild has been operational for over 100 years, and this girl truly seems to care... Revealing my status should provide me easy access to the dungeon, solo. If she is conferring with Loki, then I cannot guarantee the god wasn't lying yesterday, and won't just blab about my skill anyway. However, is she even going to believe me?"

"...I possess... the ability to skip time. My movements are sent into the immediate future."

Eina smiled and nodded. "Oh, I se... WHATTT!?"

A few guild workers looked back from their posts as a shrill sound surpassed the room's constraints. The elf hadn't actually processed what Hit was saying, until he finished, due to how unbelievable it was.

"T-that's ridiculous. Are you absolutely certain? I have never heard of anything like that...". Eina's glasses hung haphazardly from her delicate nose as she stared at him, wide eyed.

"Good thing I have this..." Hit reached into his pocket and handed the stunned girl his status sheet.

Hit had decided to always keep the most recent copy on his person and would destroy it when receiving an updated status. This would, hopefully, prevent potential enemies from learning the precise mechanism and limits of his attack. He had crossed out the 0.5 seconds portion, leaving the time period a mystery.

Eina readjusted her spectacles and blitzed to the skill section. "Huh? T-Time energy dimension? This is all so confusing. A certain amount of seconds? That doesn't seem long at all..." Eina noted that a section was crossed out, but did not press him, out of respect for his privacy.

"Yesterday morning I could only skip 0.1 seconds; that jumped exponentially by the end of the day."

Hit wondered how far he would need to skip time. A demonstration of higher-level-adventurer speed would be useful. He decided to disclose the initial value of his Time skip since, if this information were to be leaked, this would severely underplay his skill. What could someone do with a measly 0.1 seconds? After all, no other mortal in the current universe could perform comparable mental processing within such a short time span. Also, using such a specific number would determine whether Eina was a snitch, should the figure be leaked.

"G...greaaaat". Eina looked quite unfocused. 'Oh, why did I have to take Misha's shift that day...'

She shook herself out of her daze. "B-but a few seconds just doesn't sound like enough. I still don't feel good about this."

Hit huffed and got up. "Stand directly in front of me. I'll give you a demonstration."

"O-okay. Be careful." Eina also raised herself, shakily, and stood opposite him.

Hit brushed her apprehension aside. "I would never endanger a civilian."

*Shing*

"Waaahh!?"

The elf shouted as she jumped in fright, nearly falling over. An open hand suddenly materialised directly ahead of her eyes.

"Wha...how did you!?" Eina blinked, looking all around her for any other surprises.

"Do you now see how powerful it is? That attack did not technically exist, until it was right in front of you. Even if you possessed superior speed, I could attack my opponent instantly."

'Of course, if their speed and reflexes are miles ahead of mine, or if they are aware of my ability, they have a chance of escaping.'

Eina now realised just how dangerous this boy was; that ability would be disastrous in the wrong hands. His enemy would be dead before they even realised they were in any danger. She made sure not to show any fear, outwardly. "Yes. Forgive me, I didn't quite understand your skill at first. Strange, there doesn't seem to be any warning of its activation. Did your skill not discuss another dimension?"

Hit held out a hand. "If you want a glimpse, then take my hand."

'If I show her a snapshot of the fourth dimension, she should stop badgering me about being too weak. The only other way would be to draw her into my own plane, but that's far beyond me, currently.'

Eina was incredibly good at hiding her fear; for this reason, Hit chose to demonstrate his abilities further, since he did not think she was too impressed. Hit was used to interacting with figures who could perform similarly ridiculous techniques. To them, destroying galaxies was comparable to an afternoon tea.

The woman's cheeks reddened a little. She was a half-elf and therefore, more chaste than most. Bell was extremely cuddly and cute, so was an exception to her. "...That would be... acceptable."

The moment his advisor gingerly grasped his hand, Hit activated the technique.

*shing*

*crack*

A celestial chime sang in the elf's ears; her pupils brightened as the world was set ablaze in a hazy purplish-blue light. Cracks erupted all around the room and great panels of glass shattered in the corners of her vision, as if time itself was freezing. Eina's heart quaked at its majesty; she wished the moment lasted forever.

Less than a heartbeat later, the world lost a little beauty as her mind left the fourth dimension. However, she was still frozen in place: her fear had been replaced with awe at the boy; she now knew that he was no normal adventurer.

*cough*

Hit brought her back to the real world.

"Hm? O-oh! I'm so sorry, Mr Hit!" Eina quickly retracted her hand and smiled at him, nervously. "I was entranced by your skill, that was absolutely marvellous..."

Hit stuffed the hand in his pocket. "Now do you see that I am no normal rookie? There's no need for you to exert yourself."

"And that's where you're wrong! I always make sure to do my best when working! First, we'll begin with a quiz to make sure you really have been studying." The elf sat back down in her seat, followed by an annoyed Hit.

Some time passed as Eina asked her newest protégé some basic questions, followed by increasingly complex ones as Hit got every single one correct. She even had to refer to her manual a few times to find some extra tough ones. "W-wow... you have quite an amazing memory, Mr Hit. You only learned about this yesterday?"

Hit confirmed her presumption. "As soon as I read something, I never forget it"

If Hit forgot the location of his targets, often given in universal coordinates, he would be a very poor assassin.

"I can see that. Well, that makes my workload somewhat lighter." Eina thought back to Bell's first few days. He looked excruciatingly bored as Eina dumped book after book on his desk.

"The last topic, we have to discuss, would be your supplies. You already asked for maps, which we can sell to you immediately; however, your familia should have some far more detailed ones. I would recommend getting them there." Eina tapped a pen on the desk; they had been chatting for some time and she was getting restless.

"No, thank you. I'll fill mine in, myself." Hit shook his head; it would be far more interesting to discover the locations himself. As long as he didn't get lost, he'd be fine. Although, getting lost could also be exhilarating.

A vein bulged on Eina's forehead. "Grrrr. Adventurers should not go on an adventure, Mr Hit!" Eina was beginning to feel like a parrot as she had been giving Hit the same advice as during Bell's initiation.

"Then why did you people call them adventurers in the first place?" Hit quirked a brow; it was right in the name...

Eina sputtered as her anger boiled away. "B-because... Ugh... Never mind... Just be careful, okay?" She gathered herself up, shakily; Hit had batted away her catchphrase so easily... "I'll take you to my colleague later and you can purchase the maps from him, or you can ask for blanks from your familia. Now, all new adventurers are eligible for a one-time starting kit for 3500 valis. This includes: a knife for carving out monster stones; some beginner leather armour; two healing potions; rope; and a rucksack. Would you like to purchase one?"

Hit was not convinced. This was probably just a scam they tried to pull on new adventurers, who rolled up to the city with a nice nest egg. "I have no need for most of that. I already own a backpack and will commission superior clothing elsewhere. I am also guessing that the knife is of abysmal quality. How much are the potions and rope?"

The half elf's ears drooped a little, as she thought back to how many people complained about the quality of the items. They were a good price though, except for the healing potions, purchased from Dian Cecht. "W-well they are for beginners... the potions are 1200 valis, whilst the rope is complementary. If you have the funds, then I suggest you go up the tower."

Hit tilted his head, confused.

Eina's eyes glittered. 'An opening!'

"Fufufu. I see you will still be needing my guidance after all!" Eina took on a triumphant look; she was not obsolete! "The first twenty floors contain familia-run businesses, shops, and facilities. You can find good value armour and weapons there, made by aspiring blacksmiths. The Hephaestus shops are on floors four to eight, although their products can, very often, reach hundreds of millions of valis. I can direct you to the Dian Cecht familia headquarters; Airmid Teasanare can help you with potions."

Hit nodded. "In that case, I'll do my shopping there. Don't bother with the potions, I already have a source." He huffed. "Although, that means I won't be getting the free rope. What a shame."

Eina giggled. "Yes. Although, you shouldn't underestimate its versatility! How else would you get out of a pit?"

Hit got up. "Good point. If that's everything, I will begin my... adventure."

Eina pouted, adorably. "What did I say, hmm? Yes, that's everything. I'll likely be here to greet you when you're done. If not, simply exchange your stones at the large counter to the far left of the guild."

"The large one blocked with a lattice panel?" Hit had already seen people exchanging items, but just wanted to be certain.

"Yep. Do you have any final questions, before you leave, Mr Hit?" Eina nodded and began gathering Hit's documents back into a folder.

"Just one. Do you know whether magic stones can change positions within individual monsters? The literature states they can form at random, except for some exceptions." Hit would gain a massive advantage if they remained fixed. He would simply need to probe for its location, then focus his attacks on a single point. Although, he would need to tread carefully against more 'sentient' monsters.

"Hm, I can't say that I have ever heard of monster stones moving around... There are some monsters that can morph and change shape, but, other than that, No." Eina gave out the good news.

"Excellent. Thank you for your help, Miss Tulle." Hit gathered his belongings and moved off.

"Not a problem and call me Eina!" The girl shivered. Tulle made her sound so, so old.

"Sure... Eina". The boy nodded and closed the door behind him.

He had trusted the woman with his greatest secret, partially at least, successfully granting him solo access to the dungeon. Perhaps it was not the absolute best decision; however, Eina was obviously a cut above the rest. Besides, Hit was certain he would evolve quite quickly. The disclosed information would become outdated soon enough and instead become a liability to any eavesdroppers.