A/N Hi everyone! This was actually a little bonus that I threw in to my pat-re-on members last month as I had decided to chip away at it on the side and had it finished. Now I am giving it to you all.
For my regular followers, this is not the story that wass voted on for this month. There was a mix-up that involved the blue screen of death and I uploaded it very late to my pat-re-on members. In fairness to them, I am pushing back publishing that chapter for a week. So Saiyan Effect will be uploaded next week. If you want to read it, or any of my other stories early (including the next nine chapters of PFTG) head over to pat-re-on and look up Bored Peasant's Written Works.
Special thanks to Austin, Ben wanless, Bloodraven, Brian, BuzzGrave, Chris, Christopher Herring, Eligah Moreno, Endervslender, Ezoz, FallenMetalGod, felipe Saavedra, Freeman, Hyaaa B1tch, Jason Moreno, Jermaine Key, JotunAltHist, Kraxis93, Lasted, liquidpotato, Luke, MathTheOriginal, Matt Bishop, Michael Scott, My Name is Klondike, Nathan Duncan, Oda The Toaster, Orangerazor120, Paul Fischer, Proxy, r4p16, Ranger, Robert Tipton, Sith_Paladin, sonic, tasso mevissen, The Senn Master, Tlingit97, Tristan d'conceicao, UtopiaKnight39, Voidwolf 1994, Whateverlol, Will Turner and ZeroTheSoldier for their support. It means so much.
On with the story!
…
Chapter 4 – MAKING A DEAL
(Albert POV)
The atmosphere in the house was almost stifling, even though there wasn't anything actually being said. There were no threats and there were no ultimatums but the company, or who the company represented, cranked up the tension significantly.
Fels was sitting at the table in the kitchen as Tyche was making tea. Not that Fels had actually accepted her offer for tea, but clearly the goddess was nervous at having a mysterious guest from Ouranos at night in her domain. She was making it for me and her, but when she finally sat down, after putting a cup in front of me, I could see that her hands were shaking slightly. She saw me looking and used both hands to clasp her teacup.
"Now," she said, addressing the guest, "how can we help you, Ms Fels?"
I blinked and looked over at Tyche. Seeing as Fels was a skeleton, I had no idea how Tyche could tell she was a female, though it was probably some godly power of hers to know that sort of thing.
Fels reached a gloved hand into a pocket and dropped a scrap of paper on the table. The paper only had a single word written on it. It was the message I had left for Fels with the Guild on my first day, when I had dropped by the first time and got Tyche's address.
Xenos.
"I received this message through the guild and was told that any further enquiries could be made through the Tyche Familia," Fels said in that multi-tonal voice of… hers. "Seeing as you don't seem to know about it, Lady Tyche, I presume that it was left to me by your captain here." Fels waved a hand at me.
I cocked my head at that. Captain? I guess by default it was true. Though, if I was the only person, it wasn't like I was captain of much. Though, I guess that it made Invictus more accurate in a way.
"Ah, yes," Tyche said, looking at me. "This is Albert. As it stands, he is the only current member of my Familia, but that only happened last night?" She finished with a more questioning tone.
I grinned at her. "I told you that you were my first preference," I said easily. "I planned to join you before I had met you. I left this message at the Guild expecting to be here because I knew this was where I wanted to be."
The smile that broke out on Tyche's face almost made the whole room glow from her happiness. The goddess still needed positive reinforcement to help her get past the trauma of the past several months or years, I wasn't exactly sure how long ago the whole Ishtar business went, but she had been down for a very long time.
"Yes," Fels interrupted. "But regardless, that did lead me to come here tonight once my schedule allowed." Fels' head swivelled to face me and, if I could see her face, I imagined that she was pinning me with a very direct glare. As it was, a pressure started to build up in the room as Fels started to let her power out slightly. "And I must ask, Mister Albert, where did you come across this term before? I presume you know what it actually refers to?"
I nodded but looked over to my goddess. She probably didn't have the slightest clue about the xenos, as they were a very well-kept secret at the moment in the timeline. "For full disclosure though, Goddess Tyche doesn't actually know, or if she does, she didn't learn it from me."
Fels turned to look at Tyche. "I see. Very well, before we begin, Lady Tyche, have you heard of the xenos before?"
Tyche looked surprised at being addressed, then turned thoughtful as she considered the question. "Mmm, no I don't think I have," she said hesitantly.
I nodded, not surprised. "The xenos apparently refer to a group of monsters that live in the dungeon. They have somehow progressed or evolved in some way so that they can actually speak and understand, even comprehend, the same as use humans, elves and other races that live on the surface. From what I can gather they are also not liked by the other monsters and seem to have formed their own community of sorts in the dungeon as a way of protecting themselves from adventurers and monsters alike."
Tyche looked absolutely gobsmacked at this revelation of the xenos. I didn't blame her; this was something that would fly in the face of everything that the locals knew. If I didn't know about it and if I wasn't' from another world, then I might have a hard time believing that there were sentient beings among the monsters.
"We've been killing sentient beings?" she whispered, sounding horrified.
I frowned but couldn't really answer that. After all, I had only been in the city for two days. I looked over to Fels to let her answer.
"For the majority of adventurers, no," Fels said reassuringly, letting Tyche breathe out a sigh of relief. "They don't come up to the Upper floors, or even the Middle Floors. None of them venture above floor eighteen. Even then, they know the dungeon enough to be able to have quite a few places to hide from both monsters and adventurers. Still, it has happened that a monster has become a xenos and hasn't been found by the xenos community before adventurers did. Or, if an unlucky xenos has ventured out of the community and is caught by adventurers then it is possible that they will be killed, but most of them haven't even come across an adventurer since they came into being."
Fels turned back to face me. "Which makes me curious as to how you have come across the term," Fels said suspiciously. "I heard that you have only been in Orario for a short time. How do yu know about the xenos?"
I shrugged innocently, thinking about the anime. "I heard someone talking about them," I replied. "Someone that is apparently kidnapping them and smuggling them out of the dungeon for buyers."
Fels sat up straighter. "You know who this person is?" she demanded.
"I do,' I nodded. "I know their name and familiar."
"Who is it?"
I shook my head. "I'm sorry, but I can't just give that information without getting something in return."
If Fels had a face, I could imagine that it was frowning. "Why is that?" she asked.
I raised an eyebrow. "Because the people involved are dangerous," I replied. "Oh, I am sure you are too. After all, you are level four if I am not mistaken?"
Fels nodded a confirmation at that.
"But the leader of this group alone is stronger than that," I continued. "Not to mention, they have a familia to help them. I have only been here for a couple of days and I am just starting out with a falna. I have no magic, I have one skill that I got when I joined Tyche, and while I might be trainined in fighting people I am not strong enough to contend with even low-level adventurers right now. I need to get stronger before I can defend myself, let alone help out the xenos. If you want any information that might potentially put me at risk, I need to get something out of it that will let me get strong enough to survive this wretched city."
Silence reigned over the kitchen as both Fels and Tyche looked at me in surprise. Well, Tyche did. I don't know what expression Fels would have had. But I wasn't wrong in what I was saying. There were a lot of things in this city that could threaten me. Not just the monsters and xenos. In fact, by joining Tyche, it was possible that I had put myself in the sights of the Ishtar Familia, judging by how things had gone this morning when I had gone to the Guild. That was another familia that had a ruthless reputation and I would need to be strong enough to defend myself against that hideous thing that masqueraded as the captain.
"What do you want for the information?" Fels asked eventually.
"A grimoire," I said evenly.
Tyche gaped. "A grimoire?" Her shock wasn't unexpected. A grimoire was an extremely expensive magical item, from what I remember from the anime. It could cost upwards of a hundred million valis, which was certainly no small sum.
"A grimoire is too high of an asking price," Fels said, shaking her head. "If you were wanting some training or a better weapon, that would be a more realistic request."
I grinned. "What about if I could tell you the secret entrance that the xenos' kidnappers used to get into and out of the dungeon?" I asked.
Fels stilled completely. "Secret entrance?"
I nodded. "That's what I said," I confirmed. "The kidnappers don't go in the main entrance to the dungeon. They apparently have a secret way to get in and out of it. It's how they bring their captured monsters and xenos out of the dungeon. I know how it works, and I know that there are multiple entrances to get into it. I will be upfront and say that I don't know exactly where they are, I do know where the entrance inside the dungeon is so that you will be able to check that and work your way back to the surface from there."
Fels sat still for a long moment, leaving me wondering what was going on in her skeletal head. I had no idea what the resident necromancer was thinking and couldn't even work with facial clues because, well, no skin.
"Very well," Fels said. "In exchange for the information on who the members of the xenos kidnapping ring, as well as the information on the secret entrance to the dungeon, I will give you a grimoire."
I grinned. "Swear it before the goddess," I said. I had no idea if that was really worth anything, but I knew from all the ancient stories that swearing directly to a god was serious business so I wasn't really losing anything by trying it out here.
Fels tilted her head at me for a moment, before looking at Tyche. "I swear myself to the conditions that I just said, Lady Tyche."
Tyche took on a serious look and actually glowed for a moment. "I accept your oath, Fels of the Ouranos Familia," she said solemnly. "Failure to fulfil your oath will be met with harsh punishment. Punishment that Ouranos will be obvligated to perform, should you try hide yourself from me."
Huh. I guess I was right. Oaths sworn before the gods here were considered extremely important. Lucky me.
Fels nodded and looked back at me without saying anything. If there was a face to see, I imagine that she was looking at me expectantly.
"The leader is named Dix Perdix," I said. "I don't really remember the familia that he was in. Ika something."
"Ikelos," Tyche and Fels filled in at the same time.
"Sounds about right," I said. "Anyway, his whole familia seem to be in on it. They use hidden entrances all throughout Orario, but there are a couple in Daedelus Street. It takes them down to the eighteenth floor. There is a hidden entrance there on the east wall that lets them get in and out without notice."
"Eighteenth floor," Fels whispered to herself. "That would give them access directly to the Middle and Lower Floors."
I nodded. "But that's not all," I continued. "Knowing about the entrance is not enough on its own. You have to be able to access it and you can only do that with special magical items."
"What items?" Fels asked eagerly.
"You should first know that Dix is a descendant of Daedalus," I revealed, not really caring if this changed anything. "Apparently the secret entrances were built by him and his descendants have added to them every generation. Daedalus made an enchantment or something that makes it so that the doors only open for his descendants, or someone with their eyes. At some point, one of those descendants got the idea of taking the eyes of the dead ancestors and turning them into magical items that work like keys for the hidden paths. Dix has given a few of those eyes out to members of his familia. Those are the magic items that you would need to get access to the hidden entrance on the eighteenth floor."
Fels sat back in her chair while Tyche looked in, her face slightly pale at the thought of people using eyeballs as a magic item.
"To think that even after all this time, Daedalus is still impacting Orario," Fels mused softly.
"Daedalus?" Tyche asked. "As in the Daedalus that built Babel? Why would he build a secret entrance to the dungeon?"
Fels looked at me as if expecting me to answer. I just shrugged. I didn't really know much about the crazy inventor in the Danmachi universe.
"Daedalus did build Babel," Fels confirmed. "But he grew arrogant. He believed that no one would be able to surpass him. That was, until he explored the dungeon. He grew obsessed with it. He swore that he would build something greater than the dungeon and set out to do that. After a while, he just disappeared. There were rumours that he had made a dungeon of his own, but no one had ever found it. It seems like it was a secret that appears to have been kept by his descendants. This Dix Perdix appears to be one of them, as you said, Mister Albert."
Fels stood up. "You have given me much to think about this evening, Mister Albert," she continued. "I will be back in the next couple of days with the grimoire that I promised you. I will, of course, have to verify this hidden entrance on the eighteenth floor first."
I nodded. "That's fine," I said easily. After all, I was getting access to a grimoire in the first few days of my being in Orario. If I had to wait a couple extra days for that then I wasn't going to complain. After all, I hadn't really given up anything that was worth anything to me. I was planning on doing anything with the xenos and I wasn't planning on taking on the Ikelos Familia. Giving up that information for a grimoire was just good business, in my view.
"Then I shall leave you for now," Fels said with a bow. "Thank you for your time, Lady Tyche. Mister Albert."
With that, Fels departed out the front door and into the night.
Tyche moved closer to me as I closed the door after our guest. "Are you sure about this, Albert?" she asked softly. "Are we about to come under fire from the Ikelos Familia too?"
I grinned and put a comforting arm around her shoulder, giving her a one-armed hug and feeling her lean into it.
"Don't worry," I said. "None of the Ikelos Familia know that I heard anything they said."
She looked up at me, peering into my eyes, her worry still clear in her expression. "Are you sure?" she asked. "I… I don't want anything to happen to you, Albert!"
"Hey, it's ok," I said soothingly, pulling her a little tighter into the one-armed hug. "I guarantee that no one knew that I heard anything Dix said about his family or the dungeon. I should be completely safe from anything from them." After all, none of them would have known that I did hear them, just when it was their anime counterparts.
It still counts, so Tyche can't detect a lie.
She looked up and me for a good moment longer before wrapping her arms around me and burying her head into my chest. "Ok," she said, her voice muffled by my shirt. "I trust you."
I patted her head with my free hand. "Good," I said. Then I left go of the hug, the goddess letting go of me reluctantly a second later. "Now, it's time for me to get some sleep in my new house!"
"Uh," Tyche spoke up looking a little sheepish. "Albert, this talk tonight has me a little on edge. Do you… I mean, would you mind… sleeping here tonight? In the guestroom, I mean? I just would feel safer knowing that you are in the house."
I mean, I didn't really want to. I would have preferred sleeping in my own house, now that I had one. But Tyche did look a little nervous after Fels' visit. I could always sleep there from tomorrow onwards, once I got some proper training in.
"Sure," I replied. "But tomorrow I will be staying in my own place. And would you mind running through it with a duster tomorrow while I am training?"
She nodded with a smile. "I can do that," she said. "I need to make sure that all the townhouses are in good condition anyway. I don't think that anything will be wrong with them since I sold them a few weeks ago but better to be safe than sorry."
…
The night passed peacefully, but sunrise saw me outside, heading to the abandoned zone in the north east of the city. It wasn't that far away from the Hephaestus workshops, which were more of a direct east than the abandoned zone. It was a large area, covering a dozen or so blocks that had suffered from an earthquake a while ago and buildings had fallen down, rendering it nearly unliveable. Still, it wasn't a full district and only covered a part of the east-north-east district, hence why it was called a zone.
It was the perfect training ground for me.
Seeing as our little familia lived in the general direction of north-north-east, with Babel being the centre of the city, it was already in the right general area for me to make use of as a training ground for my efforts to build my stats. And with plenty of broken pieces of masonry around, I would be able to plenty of natural obstacles or weights if I wanted to make use of them.
I was also a little hesitant at first about using the place though. After all, from my own experience on Earth, abandoned zones like this were ideal for the homeless or criminals to hang out. While I don't think there were too many criminals that I needed to worry about, seeing as most of them seemed to be part of familias anyway, the chance of disturbing the homeless was a real possibility.
Still, from what Tyche had told me, it was common enough for adventurers to use the abandoned district for training purposes. After all, it was a big empty area where they could practice spells without really caring if anything got destroyed.
I reached the zone just as the sun started to make an appearance above the city wall in the distance. I frowned. I was used to much earlier wake up times in my previous life. I would prefer to get back in that routine, for the familiarity as well as convenience.
Once I arrived, I made sure my sword was fit tightly in its sheath on my back and my vambraces were firmly strapped to my arms. I looked around and sure enough, it was street after street of broken and abandoned buildings. It looked like the aftermath of a bombing run that had hit the city, reminding me of both war films and my own time in military operations.
My purpose for being here at all was a test. I needed to see how physical exercise affected my stats. I needed to get as strong as possible, as fast as possible. To do that, I couldn't waste time doing things that were ineffective in increasing my abilities and my level. There were three things that I could see that would work, though admittedly it was more like two things, with one of them applied a different way.
The first was to just do straight exercising, which is what I was going to do here. If this helped me out, then I was going to make sure I took my old routines and boost them to the next level.
The next idea was to spar someone. I didn't have anyone yet to spar with, but I had ideas on how to correct that. In the anime and manga, Bell was able to boost his stats a lot by training against Ais Wallenstein and others. If that worked, it was something else to look into. To be fair, this was just an extension of exercising, just done as a fighting exercise instead of high intensity training.
The final way is to fight monsters in the dungeon. That was an obvious one and it was well established as a way to get stronger. The problem with that is there was the obvious risk of death. Not only that, but I was still too low levelled to go further than maybe the third or fourth floor. I might risk the fifth depending on how difficult I found the monsters on those levels, but I wasn't going to be fighting too many. There were not known to be too many monsters spawning on those floors and even though they would spawn there, there were a lot of adventurers that walked those floors, meaning that I would have to hope that no one got to them before me or that they would spawn right on top of me.
I could be wrong, but the information that I was given by Rose about those top five floors was pretty specific. So fighting was a way to get stronger, but there was a possibility that I could walk around the dungeon for hours and not get enough to increase my strength as fast as I was hoping.
I stretched out my muscles and put down the pack that I brought with me, containing plenty of drinking water and a couple of healing potions, just in case. I made sure to limber up; no need to risk a pulled muscle on my first training day, after all.
Finally, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, letting my memories wander as I remembered those first few days at Kapooka for PT, then Bindoon later on.
"You will run, maggot!" my drill instructor's voice came to me. "You will run like you have never run before. And when you are tired of running, you will run some more. Because if I catch up to you, I'm going to whoop your arse in front of the whole company, before I make you run it all over again in full pack. You will run harder than you have ever run in your whole life. And when you are finished, you'll thank me for it because no one in this army got anywhere without being able to run it first. You will run your way to greatness! Now, get moving!"
So I opened my eyes and I ran.
I ran hard through the district. Hard as any person in basic will ever run. I ran at full sprint for as long as I could, using the breathing skills I had learned in basic to be able to run longer. I leaped over boulders and piles of broken bricks and rotting wood, never slowing for an instant. My lungs burned as this body had clearly never run this hard before. I don't know exactly how long I kept going, but my feet became numb and my legs became leaden long before I stopped.
I ran through half demolished buildings, more than once slamming a shoulder into a wall when I couldn't turn a corner fast enough. I ran harder than I had since I took on a national exercise challenge for gym trainers. I ran as if my drill instructor was right behind me shouting at me the whole way. Every time I was tempted to stop or even slow down, I used his voice shouting at me in my mind to push myself forward, as though I was really about to have him give me a beating if I fell behind.
Finally, I stopped and gasped in great lungfuls of air. My legs were shaky and felt like jelly. Even though I hated doing it, I put both hands behind my head to open up chest and make recovery easier, making sure that I kept walking. Otherwise I knew that cramping was a very real threat.
Once I caught my breath, I dropped down and started doing push ups. I kept going until I couldn't. then I rolled over and did sit ups until I couldn't lift myself up any more.
The next few hours I kept going until I was stuck on the ground, unable to move and disgruntled that this body was unable to keep up with my prime from my previous life. I still had the drill instructor shouting in my mind, but I willed his memory away and dragged myself over to my pack. I chugged my water, enjoying the life saving beverage. I took a few more deep breaths and just enjoyed sitting in the sun after a long workout, feeling the satisfying burn in my muscles that comes from a good workout.
I grabbed one of the health potions and swigged half of it down, feeling the pains and fatigue fade away quickly. I couldn't help feeling amazed at that. If we'd had these instead of post-workout protein drinks, I would have made a killing selling them from the gym. Luckily, from what Tyche said, this won't negatively impact my physical training. It just helped the muscles heal to their new best form, saving time in the muscle building process. This was going to replace my protein in the short term. Unfortunately, magic potions are a little expensive for me to get too many of them right now. Until I spent some time in the dungeon, I was going to have to rely on the few magic potions that Tyche had left over.
If this type of training boosted my stats, then I was going to abuse the hell out of this. I wouldn't need a recovery day ever if I didn't want one!
By the time I got back to the familia house, the sun was at its peak, showing it was about noon. I still hadn't checked on whether clocks were a thing yet. I should do that soon.
"Albert!" Tyche exclaimed happily as I arrived back. She was wearing a little apron, looking for all the world like a cute little chef. It was certainly an attractive view that I was going to enjoy. "I just got lunch ready. Go wash up. I will have it on the table in a moment."
She hurried back into the kitchen and I headed into the bathroom, enjoying a warm shower to wash away the sweat and grime of the abandoned zone. I wanted to stay there as long as possible, but my loudly protesting stomach reminded me that food was on the way. I finished up and went back to the kitchen.
Stray though: I really needed to buy my own clothes. Using the stuff left over from the old familia members didn't feel right.
The smells tickling my nose were making my mouth water as I reentered the kitchen, to see Tyche laying the food out on the table. I sat down and started digging in.
"This is great!" I moaned appreciatively between bites. "Awesome work, Tyche."
She beamed at me. "You're welcome," she said, her cheeks pinking slightly. "Now, you wanted me to update your status after lunch, yes? To see how physical exercise would work for you increasing your skills?"
I nodded, my mouth too full to reply with words at that moment.
"Good," she said with a smile. "Then once you've eaten and we have cleaned up, you can take your shirt off and we can do it right here in the kitchen."
Less than ten minutes later, I was sitting shirtless in my chair and leaning over the table while Tyche stood behind me. The goddess produced a needle from somewhere and I could feel warmth spread all over my body as she used her power to update my status.
"Just a question about the status," I said as she worked. "Will I feel any physical improvements without my status being updated first? For example, if I go without a status update for a few weeks or something but do heaps of work in the meantime to build up my status, will my body get stronger without being updated first?"
"I get what you're asking," Tyche said as she placed her hands above my back and used her power, making a light glow throughout the room even in the middle of the day. "And yes, your body will gain a little boost, but it won't be fully completed until you get a status update. That will be when your body gains and adjusts to its new status and level."
"Got it," I said. "Also, while we are here, is there anywhere I can buy a clock or a timepiece?"
"Hmmm, I think that the Goibnu Familia were selling some form their shop in the Northwest. But you could probably also check their store in Babel on the tenth floor."
Well that was a relief. I would be able to tell time here after all. "Great, thanks for that Tyche."
"You're welcome!" she said brightly. "Though, just a warning, Goibnu's stuff can get a little pricey."
"Of course it can," I deadpanned. "I guess that means I am going to need to head to the dungeon this afternoon and try gaining some valis."
"Sounds exciting!" she exclaimed as the light dimmed and she pulled her hands away from my skin. A moment later, a sheet of paper was put on my back and she made a copy for me to look at.
"Wow," she said, looking at my status. "This is some serious work, Albert! I don't think I've seen my old children's status grow this quickly from a single morning's training session. You must have worked really hard!"
I took the sheets and looked over my status.
Name: Albert Jacka
Level: 1
Strength: I0 – I22
Endurance: I0 – I39
Dexterity: I0 – I15
Agility: I0 – I41
Magic: I0
Skills
Invictus
Magic
I did a quick mental tally. One hundred and seventeen points over about five hours of constant exhaustive effort. If I went back out now, I could probably do another five, maybe six hours and get roughly the same, as long as the law of diminishing returns didn't hit me too quickly.
Still, it gave me a benchmark of what I could expect to gain from physical training on my own. Now I needed to find out how I would go for roughly the same length of time in the dungeon fighting against monsters.
"Well, that's ok for now, I suppose," I mused as I considered the status sheet.
"Ok?" she gaped at me. "Albert, you gained more than a hundred points on your status in a single morning! I don't think you realise but that sort of thing doesn't just happen. It takes weeks for most people to get that sort of jump in their status!"
"Even people just starting level one?" I asked. "Because I could see that being the case in the higher levels."
"Even level ones don't usually grow this quick," Tyche confirmed. "I don't know what sort of training you did this morning but if you keep growing like this, you are going to be popular all over Orario!"
I hummed. That wasn't really what I was looking for; not yet at least. I intended to be stronger than level two before my name became well known. I didn't want to be in anyone's spotlight too soon. I knew it would happen once I levelled up but I guess I had hoped in vain I could stay under the radar for a while longer.
As for no one else levelled up that high, I doubt that they were pushing themselves like I did. No one pushes themselves like a recruit in Special Forces PT. Here, I guessed most people did some light sparring and then walked around the dungeon for a while, getting into small fights that lasted only seconds every now and again. Nothing that really forced a person to try too hard under constant physical strain and exertion.
"Well," I said thoughtfully, "I guess you are going to have to get used to having a record setting familia member."
She gaped and me a moment longer, then burst out into laughter as she hugged me.
"I'm so glad you chose me to be your goddess!" she cheered, squeezing me tightly.
She let go after a few more seconds. "Now," she said excitedly, "it's time for you to go to the dungeon. It's your first time and I know that you are going to do great!"
I chuckled as I hugged her back. "Thanks, Tyche," I said, standing up and heading back to my gear. "Do you think you could do me a favour and buy me some clothes while I am out?" I grinned sheepishly. "I am starting to run out of leftover clothes that fit me."
She looked apologetic. "Sorry Albert," she said. "But I need to head to the Guild to learn more about your skill. Also it would be good if you went, at least the first time, so that you can get things in your size and things that you like. I could do it for you next time though, and I can wash your clothes in the meantime."
Hmm, she spoke sense, but I was a little loath to miss a training session to go clothes shopping. Oh well, things need to be taken care of. I had enough spares to get me through a few more days before I ran out, and Tyche was nice enough to do the washing so I would have a few more days on top of that before I really became desperate.
About a week. That's what I would do. I will use the leftovers every day until then, training in the morning, and maybe after lunch, with a dungeon session in the afternoon to earn some money. It all depended on how much I could grow my stats in a typical dungeon session.
"Ok," I acquiesced. "That's fine. I will go another day though. I want to continue my experiments and see how I go raising my status for the next few days. Thanks for washing the clothes though!" I gave her a lopsided smile. "Sorry about how smelly they are going to be after my workouts."
She giggled and swiped at me with a dishcloth. "That's fine," she said. "Now, you head on out. The dungeon is waiting!"
"Yes, ma'am!" I called out, giving her a mock salute and eliciting more giggles out of the cute goddess.
She was right though. I grabbed my pack, strapped on my weapons and ran out the door.
The dungeon awaits.
…
A/N I might get some flack about how fast MC gained points to his falna, but I want to point something out. Bell Cranel, in the first episode of the anime and first few pages of the manga, managed to get a decent jump to his agility by 'running away in terror'. This is before he got his Liarise Freese skill. But other than that couple of minutes where he was running away from the minotaur, all we see is him slowly walking around the place waiting to see monsters. In fact, most travelling through the dungeon is done by just walking.
MC was running at full tilt for a long time, motivated by the memories of his instructors running behind him with promised pain if they caught him. Other than a couple of drinks breaks he was running, doing push ups and sit ups, and otherwise forcing himself to push harder. He kept it up for hours. That would be enough to get stronger, faster than nearly everyone else in Orario.
Anyway, thanks for reading. I appreciate you all. This story will be updated next month as it won the pat-re-on poll so no need to wait too long.
