Chapter 21: Obstruction

*Flutter*

Hit snuffled his nose.

*Flutter*

"Grrr." He waved his head.

*Flutter* *Flutter*

Hit's meditative state broke as he surveyed what was bothering him. The boy blinked at a curious moth, fluttering around his head. It landed right on his nose. The bug's wings danced as it careened into the sky, under Hit's breath. 'Guess that's my meditation finalised for the day.'

The boy was not alone as he stared over at a peculiarly positioned girl. She was upside down, holding herself up with nothing but her pinkie. Her other arm was folded behind her back, and golden eyes were closed; thankfully, she wore shorts. Ais Wallenstein peeked an eye open. Seeing that her teacher had woken up, she pushed herself into the air and flipped onto her feet; the crisp air did her tired body good.

The quiet girl stretched herself in the moonlight, contentedly. Ais' new training methods had improved her dexterity, muscle movements, and mental clarity greatly. It wasn't a staggering difference, but it was still impressive just how much of her potential was still locked away. As a result, she had found that targeting monster weak points, and evading their attacks, came more fluidly to her. She also tired less quickly, due to her improved efficiency. Ais was deeply grateful for Hit's training, something that she viewed as instrumental to defeating Udaeus, the monster rex of the 37th floor, singlehandedly. Even when the demonic titan reared out a gargantuan onyx blade, an event that had never occurred before, her mental state did not falter in the slightest. Finally, she was a little closer to reaching her goal, after such a prolonged time. Ais Wallenstein was now the Loki familia's fourth level 6.

Image training was still slightly beyond her, only recently managing to connect with Hit's mindscape. However, her focus was still lacking, leading to the projection of a child-like Ais in the plane. Her teacher had been quite shocked that she even managed such a feat, mumbling about 'ki' not being a requirement here.

The blond girl walked up to her teacher, who had pulled out a gold-engraved book and begun reading it. "...How is your magic research progressing?"

Hit closed the book and pulled out a golden valis coin. "See for yourself"

*Clink*

He flicked the coin into the air, creating a shimmering effect in the starlight.

Hit positioned his hands to form an isosceles triangle: thumbs formed the base, and two fingers formed each equal side; his body glowed in a wispy purple light. The coin glimmered above, right at the centre of the formation.

"Hmph" A grunt of effort from Hit transferred the glow onto the now plummeting coin. The odd lighting caused its rotations and descent to slow to a snail's pace.

Hit smirked at the object, proof that he was now capable of magic. "Take that, you old bag. Easy-peasy."

This was Hit's first magic: [Time Lag]. [Time lag] was the magic version of the ki technique he had used to slow Jiren down, during the tournament of power. The target's time is slowed, making them much easier to dodge and attack. However, the greater the object's momentum, the harder it was to slow. It was a weaker version of Hit's more advanced technique, used later in the tournament.

Ais stared at the object in wonderment: it appeared to be floating down to Earth, like a faraway comet. Rather than a plasma tail, magic particles danced around it. "...Amazing... Did you really teach yourself this in three weeks?"

Hit rolled his eyes, not understanding how momentous the achievement was. "It was relatively easy. Using the various magic Tomes within your library, I could meditate and focus at the exact frequency and wavelength required to match the energy. The rest was a cake walk."

The girl shook her head. Hit was a genius beyond measure. "You should talk to Riveria... she would be very impressed."

Hit cupped his chin, still sat in his meditative stance. "Perhaps..."

He wasn't too opposed to meeting the woman; she was supposed to be the best mage in the world. Hit had requested a familia with magic experts, as it would be likely that the familia had good quality magic items and literature. Teaching himself was always the goal; however, some doubts remained.

'It was a bit harder than I described: some terms still confuse me. I apparently can only have a maximum of three magic slots, with most people having one. The second and third slots are incredibly difficult to fill, demonstrated by my lack of progress following my first spell. I also cannot seem to shake an odd feeling of some kind... Not to mention the annoying oddities during my magic's first activation...'

...

An aching sensation broke Hit's train of thought and forecast that a link would soon be severed. Hit looked up his blond pupil. "I can also deactivate it at any time. Stand there."

Ais obliged, instantly moving to where the boy pointed. Hit had ordered her around harshly during their training and was not very forgiving when she made a mistake.

*clink*

"...Ow..."

Ais rubbed her head as the coin dropped right onto it. She pouted at him; however, was not hurt.

Hit tucked the book under his arm and walked back towards the mansion. "Goodnight."

Ais watched him leave, still a little annoyed. When she had told Hit of her level up, a few days ago, he seemed to become a little grumpier, and more demanding in his orders.

Ais picked the coin up and looked at her reflection. One of her lessons had been to reflect on herself, thereby projecting an accurate image. No matter how much she tried, she could only envision herself as a little girl who fought dragons. She placed the coin in her pocket and made her way to the dining hall, stomach grumbling a little.

*Clank*

"Well done today everyone!"

"To our health!"

"Nah, ta getting stinking rich!"

"HAHA!"

*Clank*

Loki familia adventurers drank the night away, in the mansion dining hall, clinking mugs, and singing merrily. Most were sat near the outer ring, while the higher-level ones sat near the centre. The room contained a multitude of enormous tables, each surrounded by several wooden chairs, covered in red cushions.

Ais placed her tray next to her mother figure, Riveria, and tucked into her hard-earned meal.

The high elf remarked that Ais had retired for meals at the exact same time, these last three weeks. Strangely, the girl replied even more vaguely than usual when questioned about it. At least she did better than their newest member, who she had not seen at all. Very few members of the Loki familia had seen Hit, most only heard rumours of a flowing grey coat and grumpy demeanour. Naturally, people began to whisper and spread rumours.

A trio of rookies chatted behind the high-level adventurers, unaware of their presence. One, a human male, spoke desperately. "Have you seen the new kid? I ran into him, literally! The guy looked like he wanted to kill me! Are you sure he's not an elf? He definitely acts like one..."

The oldest one, a bearded human, shook his head. "Nah, I hear he's a human. He's just stuck up!"

A young woman waved her hand back and forth. "Same difference..."

*Cough* *Cough*

Riveria coughed from behind, looking quite vexed at being disturbed during one of her only moments to relax.

The three idiots stammered and turned around.

"Uh...well... Hello Miss... No, Lady Riveria!" The first human addressed her with a crooked smile.

Riveria simply raised an eyebrow, disapprovingly, which made the three gulp.

"Haha... I'm sure you're busy, so...We're just gonna go ... this way!" The man ran off, leaving his companions to stumble after him.

Riveria huffed and returned to her dining, yet laughter was still bubbling from nearby.

"Heh, heh. You've got to admit, the lad has been quite slippery. I don't think any of us have seen 'im since he joined ...and Loki only the day after." Gareth finished his chuckles with a large swill of his mug. A part of the dwarf was a little concerned; however, he was satiated by the fact that the boy was definitely still alive. Eina had reported his regular attendance and a few members had spotted him at the Hostess of fertility.

"That is deeply concerning. Is he putting off updates for a larger status jump?" Riveria looked up towards the dormitories. Beginners were dissuaded from performing such a tactic, which often backfired so early on.

Tiona fidgeted around, playfully. "Why don't we just pay him a visit tomorrow morning? To bring him out of his shell!"

Tione scolded her sister, glancing at a blond haired pallum while doing it. "No. That would be a breach of privacy. Besides, people have only seen him after dark. He probably goes down extremely early."

Tiona was not dissuaded and changed tactics, waving her cutlery about. "Then let's go annoy him after dinner!"

Finn coughed to draw their attention and save the poor boy. "Uhm... I would advise against that; we don't want to scare him off. However, I agree that we should at least have weekly meetings with him. I hardly know the boy."

*Bang*

Bete loga entered the conversation. "Who cares!? Why the hell did ya even let that bastard in, huh!? I doubt he even does anything, just lazes about the city."

Ais frowned at the slight against her friend. "You're wrong. He fights regularly..."

Bete blinked and stared at the girl, surprised at her involvement. "And how exactly would you know that, Ais?".

Ais regressed to her usual behaviour and munched away, quietly, not paying him any mind.

The wolf picked up his tray, noisily, and marched off. "Tch. Don't waste time thinking about that moron."

Riveria looked at Ais curiously: she didn't often speak up for herself. "Hm. Have you seen him, Ais?"

The sheepish girl glanced at her, then quickly returned her attention to eating. "No... I just heard rumours."

The elf had known Ais since she was seven, and knew when she was nervous, or lying. What could she be hiding? "Well, I will have to speak to him and Loki about this. Independent diving is already bad enough, but he must be assisted in some capacity."

Ais sweated a little, hoping that Hit would not blame her for her mentor's actions.

…

Speaking of Hit, he was accomplishing his daily mission: avoid all the pests. This involved sneaking out of the mansion at 5 in the morning and returning to his room at either 11 or 8 at night, depending on if he was giving Ais a lesson. His first few days in Orario had been an exasperating struggle, at least for someone who travelled the universe with ease. Hit was not used to his activities being hindered so much and was honestly starting to feel a little paranoid; he felt that these last three weeks had been going too smoothly. Surely, something was going to start annoying him again.

Hit successfully avoided a drunk party of five, and dove down the corridor, entering and locking his room. Breathing out in relief, he sat on the bed and reflected on his recent progress. A few weeks had passed by, monotonously, since joining the familia. Although, they had been rather life threatening. Hit continued to dive down to the 12th floor every day, pitting himself against a motley of powerful monsters. His reflexes, and body reaction time and fluidity, had increased to that of a high level one; whereas, his basic abilities were only elevated by a slight amount. Hit was playing a very dangerous game, and was seeing how far he could delve without any status updates.

After a very short 'battle', he made sure to stay away from the incredibly rare infant dragons, considered to be the bosses of the upper floors. On a more positive note, the continuous fighting had pushed Hit's time skip to jump one second into the future. This allowed him to swing his body out of the way of attacks, or land up to three consecutive blows, while leaping through time.

Of course, this time was being saved; however not every second could be successfully stored as latent time energy. A little was used to empower attacks, and some was used during activation and dispersal of the technique. The conversion rate was also not always absolutely perfect and varied depending on Hit's concentration. It would take time to build up, in more than one sense.

He had dipped a toe into the thirteenth floor, successfully killing a few almiraj... For some reason, he felt that he should apologise to Bell. However, their immense numbers, and teamwork with hellhounds, proved to be quite problematic.

Now that he finally had a spell, he would attempt to raid the thirteenth floor, once more. His confidence was bolstered by the fact that this version of the technique had some advantages to its previous incarnation. Principally, it was more loosely tied to his knowledge of time skipping, not to the skill itself. Therefore, it used a different energy 'reservoir' and could be used more often than in his previous life. Magic was tied to his magic stat, which should have been increasing due to rigorous studying and practice.

Hit snuggled into bed, dreaming about what kinds of creatures he would encounter tomorrow.

"Zzzzz"

Dream was the incorrect term, as Hit was currently in a living nightmare. His dip into the thirteenth floor, and beyond, had gone terribly wrong.

*HISSSS*

*MRRAARR!*

Razor sharp canines dripped glistening saliva as a brawny feline skulked around Hit, grimacing. The cat's fur was a streaked black and orange, making it appear like a colossal tiger. It was a Ligerfang, a creature comparable to a minotaur in strength, and superior in speed. Mad, frenzied eyes glared at the boy, their ringed structure being quite hypnotic. Its prey cornered, the deadly feline hissed and flung a clawed paw at Hit, who managed to weave his abdomen to the side, while time was stopped.

*Shing*

*RAAAR!*

*Shing*

*HISSSS*

*Shing*

'Just keep dodging, just keep dodging!'

Unlike in Hit's last deadly encounter, this level 2 monster was not at all enfeebled, forcing the boy to do nothing but dodge through time, only possible due to his recent evolution to one second jumps. Even a single swipe would tear his body apart like paper; Hit was never too durable.

*Shing*

Hit put his hands in a triangular formation and activated his magic. 'Crap!'

Unfortunately, the glow was not transferred over.

*GRAAA!*

The boy reeled back, just enough to save an eye, and put some distance between his enemy. Three claw marks became visible on Hit's face, as blood ebbed and dripped down from the long lacerations. The boy sweated at the turn of events; he had underestimated the beast's power and had not concentrated for nearly long enough. 'Dammit!'

Hit cursed his bad luck. The day had proceeded rather smoothly: he had made acceptable progress against the hellhounds, on account of his newly commissioned fire-retardant cloak. Time lag had also been an incredible boon, allowing him to slow down some of the pesky almiraj, thereby disrupting their teamwork. Combined, they had enabled him to trudge his way to the fifteenth floor, where his nightmare had begun.

Like a gargoyle guardian, the brutish Ligerfang had slunk its way from behind a boulder and blocked his path. It was as if the dungeon was showing him just how out of his league he was. 'I need to distract it somehow, or I'm cat food.'

*MEAARR*

Padded feet made little noise as the creature bounded at Hit, who took one look at the thing's speed, and hunger, and performed a strategic withdrawal, back the way he came.

He quickened his pace as he saw the entrance to the fourteenth floor.

*BAM*

The dungeon floor cracked as Hit's whiskered pursuer dove down onto the boy, as if catching a mouse. Thankfully Hit scampered up the staircase as fast as possible. Once he had breached the upper level, he flicked his gaze about. 'Where are you bastards?'

The 'bastards' that Hit was referring to, stepped out of the shadows, and growled. Embers flickered at each breath as magic fire licked at their muzzles. The two hellhounds were glad to be reunited with him.

*Crash*

The staircase cracked and trembled as the Ligerfang lumbered up it, intent on finishing Hit off. Hit spread his arms wide and bellowed at the fiery dogs in front of him.

"Come on!"

The hellhounds obliged and rocketed at him, taking in huge gulps of air to empower their flamethrower attacks. His other enemy had also joined the frenzy.

*CRASH*

*MEAAR!*

Hit sensed, and felt, the ravenous cat behind him, and weaved to the side, allowing the hellhounds' twin flames to blitz right past him, setting the Ligerfang ablaze.

*MMEEEEOOOOOWWW!*

The monster screamed and continued to fly forwards, due to its momentum, and crashed into the now terrified hounds. Magic fire blackened as they were killed on impact. Hit wasted no time and readied his time lag, keeping a watchful eye on the flailing beast, which was eager to put out the crimson flames.

*Grrrrrrrr*

A charred cat got up, shakily, and began to rearrange its thoughts. Hit used the moment to his advantage and cast his spell, this time successfully covering the Ligerfang in a purple haze. 'Yes!'

Hit relaxed his stance and walked up to the barely twitching monster, before launching a full power punch. "HAAA!"

His fist smashed into the animal's face, yet the attack did barely any damage; solely superficial scratches. Ripples reverberated through the animal's body in slow motion, its expression slowly morphing into rage. Hit placed the throbbing hand into his pocket and addressed the agonized enemy.

"I'll be back".

With that, Hit ran past it and sped off to the surface.

Author's Notes

Hit's powers and techniques vary between the anime and manga, making it quite difficult to pinpoint what exactly they do. I'll try to use his anime feats, since I think the manga nerfs him. Time lag is nice though and is a manga exclusive.