Foreword: We're back! Welcome to Volume 3.5, hope you enjoy this Prologue! For those wondering about the Q&A, I've put my answers at the bottom! Thank you to all for your kind words and support so far!

Prologue (Interlude)
Blue-Haired Senpai, White-Haired Kouhai

After saying goodbye to the goddess, I make my way up towards Northwest Main–the street commonly referred to as "Adventurer's Way" by Orario's inhabitants. The street looks as busy as ever, despite the attack by Evilus just a few days ago. I see adventurers milling around, chatting and laughing like normal as shopkeepers bustle around, occupied with their daily jobs.

I'm currently en route to the Pantheon, the headquarters of the Guild. Normally, I only go there after I'm finished for the day to turn in my Magic Stones and the occasional monster drop that passes through my hands, but today's a little different. Eina-san specifically requested that I head there before going off to the Dungeon today.

The Pantheon's lobby is empty right now, probably because it's early in the morning and most adventurers are in the Dungeon right now. Without the usual crowd of people blocking my vision, I see Eina-san at her window almost instantly.

There's someone else, though. Not a customer standing at Eina-san's counter, but rather, someone slumped in another chair next to Eina-san inside of the booth she's standing at right now. My eyes make out short blue hair, plates of armor, and the handle of what must be a huge sword sticking out from the booth. Another adventurer, like me.

She's… sleeping?

"Ah, Bell." Eina-san sees me quickly as well, and waves me over. To my surprise, she also turns to the person at her side and nudges them. "Time to wake up, Maris." The adventurer makes a groaning noise, but otherwise doesn't move. Eina nudges them again. "Maris. It's time to wake up."

"Mmmrgh…" The person gives another groan and settles deeper into her chair. "Gimme… 5 more… minutes… 'na-san…"

"Maris Hackard." I can't stop myself from snapping to attention at the steely tone that's suddenly appeared in Eina-san's voice. That's the voice she uses whenever she's about to start telling you off.

From how Maris flinches at Eina-san's words, she's also been on the receiving end of Eina-san's lectures before. "Alright, alright…" It takes a few more seconds, but I watch as she gets up out of the chair and stands up, picking her sword up as she does so.

There's something familiar about her, something that faintly tickles at the inside of my brain, but I don't know what. Eina-san has a troubled expression on her face as she looks between the two of us.

It's not long before the 3 of us find ourselves inside of one of the Guild's private consultation rooms.

"Alright. Let's start off with some basic introductions." Eina-san has both of us face each other and shake hands. "Maris Hackard, this is Bell Cranel. Bell, Maris." As I shake her hand, I find myself staring as an overwhelming sense of familiarity overtakes me. That blue hair, and that sword…

I recognize her.

The details are sort of hazy, but she's the person I crashed into when I came through the Pantheon's doors on that day.

Oblivious to what I'm thinking, Eina-san continues talking. "Maris is one of the adventurers I work with–my very first adventurer, in fact. As for Bell… he's someone I've recently taken under my wing."

Maris-san stares at me. Her eyes narrow. "Hey, I remember you." I wince, readying myself for the inevitable accusation of getting blood all over her hard-earned money–

"So you're the new kid Eina-san's been talking about. Nice to meetcha!" To my surprise, I feel a hand settle into my hair and rub it back and forth vigorously. An odd feeling of warmth springs up inside of me. No one's done that since Gramps. "I guess that makes me your senpai, huh?"

For some reason, Maris-san–no, Maris-senpai–seems really excited about the prospect. She's got a big smile and everything as she looks at Eina-san, who looks vaguely resigned for some reason as she nods. "Maris is Level–" for some reason, Eina-san hesitates for a second, looking at Maris before continuing "–2, and also someone with numerous years of experience diving in the Dungeon. The reason she's here today is because I want her going with you today."

It takes a second for Eina-san's words to fully register. "You… want her… to go with me?" In response, my advisor nods.

"Yes. Maris will accompany you wherever you're headed today, and help to both correct any mistakes you might make on the field or provide tips that might help with your own Dungeon-diving." Eina-san pushes her glasses upwards before sternly glaring at me. "Let me make this clear, Bell: she will only intervene in a life-or-death scenario. Don't use her presence as an excuse to dive deeper than your own limit. Do you understand?"

Ah, she's using that scary voice again. "Y-yes!" I nod as fast as I can in agreement. I was only planning to go to the 6th Floor today, anyways. Eina-san had cleared me for the 7th after yesterday, when she had seen my Status, but it was like she said: adventurers shouldn't go on adventures.

Eina-san looks into my eyes before nodding. "Good. In that case, I'll leave you two to it." She turns to Maris-senpai, and they exchange a glance before Eina turns and walks out of the consultation room to Maris-senpai's "See you later, Eina-san!" and my own goodbye.

"Heh, to think I'd get to be a senpai again… man, how exciting." I watch as next to me, Maris-senpai clears her throat. "Ready to go?"

I nod. I won't let this new senpai down. I hold my head high, take one step out the door…

"Also, aren't you that kid that came in here a few days ago, covered in Minotaur blood?"

… and immediately stumble before catching myself. "Hwah?!" I panickedly turn around to Maris-senpai, who has a smug look on her face.

"Heh. I thought you looked familiar. No wonder Eina-san was skittish about who you were that day. I had to hose those coins down at the marketplace myself after that, you know? Awkward as hell."

I immediately throw myself into the deepest bow I can muster. "I'm sorry!" To my surprise, I find hands stopping me before I manage to finish.

"Woah, woah, no need for that. Don't worry about it, kid. Water under the bridge! Or blood, as it were. Heh." Maris-senpai grins at me. "Alright, for real this time. Are you ready?"

After I finish composing myself, I respond. "Of course!"

~~This is a Line Break~~

Dodging backwards from a black, 3-clawed swipe aimed at my head, I readjust and stare down the monster in front me. At 160 centimeters tall, it's almost as tall as I am, black and menacing as a single eye shines out balefully in my direction. Its hands hang free, knife-like claws on either end.

War Shadow.

This is the most powerful monster on the 6th Floor, and a famed "newbie killer". Just a few days ago, a group of these had nearly ended up costing me my life. But now… things are different. With the way I am now… it's not a match for me anymore!

I lunge in, ducking to the side to avoid a swipe before I get close enough to bury my dagger in the monster's gut. It goes stiff before dropping to its knees and I turn, ripping my knife free to block an incoming strike from another one of these monsters. The impact makes my knife tremble, but I tighten my grip before slashing outwards. My blade cuts into its head and it goes down.

A third War Shadow comes at me, but I dodge past its strike and into its guard before slamming my knife into its neck. It falls to the ground and doesn't get up again.

I pause for a moment to catch my breath as I stare at the bodies. 3 War Shadows gone, just like that. And to think that a little over a week ago, I barely made it past fighting two of them at once. Then again, my stats have improved significantly compared to a week ago.

There's another part to my improvement, of course. I glance down at the Divine Knife in my hands. Not only does it perfectly fit into my palm, but when I swing it, it feels just like another extension of my body. That's not even mentioning its edge–it's sharp enough to cut through the shells of Killer Ants like nothing, and that goes even more so for these War Shadows.

"Woah." Next to me, Maris-senpai sidles over, glancing down at the Divine Knife with an appreciative whistle. "That's one sweet weapon you've got there."

"Th-thank you, senpai." Maris-senpai preens at that, but quickly shakes her head and turns away. I catch a muttered "don't get distracted, Maris! No matter how adorably cute he is!" She clears her throat and turns back around, her face now focused.

"But I gotta ask. Why are you only using your knife?"

The question makes me pause. "What do you mean?" I look down at my knife. "Am I doing it wrong?"

Maris-senpai shakes her head. "Not that. Don't get it wrong, kid–you're doing great. Your form's real solid, especially for a newbie as fresh as you are. Ain't nothing wrong with using a knife as your primary weapon, either. But why are you only using the knife?"

Maris-senpai's question hangs in the air as I struggle to find an answer.

"It's a good weapon, like I said. But you shouldn't be relying on it as your only weapon." I frown as I consider her words. … She's right. I've only ever looked at monsters and thought about killing them with my knife. "Think about it. What happens if you accidentally drop it in the middle of a fight? Do you think the monsters are gonna let you pick it back up?"

–When she says that, I can't help but remember what happened just over a week ago, when I first came down to the 6th Floor. I had dropped my knife then, and been forced to literally punch my way out of that situation. It had worked pretty well, too, considering I had killed one of the War Shadows by punching it in the eye.

It's with a start that I realize that the entire time we've been down in the Dungeon, she hasn't drawn her sword at all. It's still there, strapped to her back. And the corpses of the other monsters around her… I swallow hard as I see the visible, fist-sized holes in every one of them.

She had actually killed every one of them by punching. And in a single blow, at that. That's a Level 2 adventurer for you. There's a reason Level 2s and up are known as "upper-class adventurers", because their abilities exceed anything possibly imaginable that a Level 1 adventurer could ever hope of achieving.

But… I glance down at my fist, and remember the way the War Shadow's head had crumpled around my punch. I can do the same thing too, can't I?

It wasn't that fighting monsters by punching them was difficult or impossible. It was just that I hadn't ever thought of it like that before.

Maris-senpai smiles. "Ah, see, now you're getting it." She adopts a pose that looks more like something Eina-san would use as she begins to talk. "If you can hit them with your knife, you can probably hit them with your fist or your feet as well. You're fighting with a knife in close-quarters already, right? That means you need every advantage you can get. Your entire body can be a weapon, so long as you use it correctly. Understand?"

"Yes!" I nod and do my best to remember those words. This is the advice of someone far more experienced than I am. Someone who's ventured deeper than I could ever imagine.

To my surprise, Maris-senpai proceeds to make a face as she shakes her head. Something else flickers across her face for an instant, something I don't recognize, but before I can try to make out what kind of expression she's making, it's gone.

"Alright. In that case, let's see just how well you understand what I mean. Give me a few minutes, I'll be right back!" I watch as she gives me a wave and disappears into one of the tunnels leading away from the room.

I hear a few shouts from around the corner, but they quickly fade away as Maris-senpai disappears, and I'm left by myself. While a monster or two appears in the time she's away, it's not a problem for me to handle at all.

It's not long before I hear footsteps, and I peek around the corner to see her leisurely jogging around the corner. She gives a wave as she sees me, but my attention is immediately drawn to what's behind her. I feel my blood go cold. Wait a minute, isn't this a…

"Alright, best of luck! I better see you punching and kicking!" I watch as Maris-senpai gives me a cheerful wave before putting on a burst of speed, disappearing past me in a blur… leaving me alone to face the swarm of two dozen War Shadows that were chasing behind her.

PASS PARADE?!

"Pass Parade". It's a strategy used by adventurers inside of the Dungeon's lower floors to escape, usually from a large amount of monsters that they aren't able to handle. And the reason it's called a Pass Parade is because the adventurers that use it typically pass off the number of monsters onto another group, using them as a decoy before hightailing it out of there.

Usually, this doesn't happen in the shallower levels of the Dungeon. There are plenty of solo adventurers there, and monsters don't spawn quickly enough for Pass Parades to be viewed as a necessary tactic. But from the 7th Floor onwards… due to how much more dangerous the Dungeon becomes, I've heard that it's not uncommon for parties to accidentally get wiped out because of Killer Ant swarms that were "passed" onto them by other people, or for an unexpected Irregular to cause a massacre amongst numerous adventurers because they were used as decoys and became unexpectedly overwhelmed.

Like right now!

I duck back from a War Shadow's claws before slicing it across the chest with my knife, sending it to the ground, but two more War Shadows immediately take its spot and lunge right at me. I slide past their attacks and try to land a counter of my own, but a third War Shadow gets to me first, raking its claws across my arm.

I wince at the sting and back up some more, but before I can even catch my breath, there are already several more monsters coming.

I don't even have a chance to counterattack. There are too many attacks for me to even think about blocking, let alone countering. All I can do right now is scramble away from the War Shadows, rolling and dodging as I try my best to run away.

But even that's not enough. There are too many of them. I'm never able to get into position to counterattack with my knife!

I force myself to take a swing, but all it does is leave a shallow wound in a War Shadow's side. And in front of me, the monsters are already beginning to move. 4 War Shadows are coming at me, all at once. This is an 8-way attack–I won't be able to block everything!

"Gah?!" I shield myself with my arms and try to guard, but the attack is still strong enough to send me flying backwards across the ground. The impact knocks the wind out of me.

"Oh, shit. You good, kid?!" I can hear Maris-senpai from across the room. "You need help?"

For some reason, at the mention of 'help', I can't stop myself from being reminded of that werewolf's cruel words from that night in the tavern. A tiny kid like that could never land Aiz Wallenstein!

As I am right now, I am weak. Unimaginably weak. Even though I've made a declaration to improve, to become stronger… as things stand, she is just as far away as the day I started. I can't even face these War Shadows without being backed into a corner.

If she was here, they surely would've already been decimated by now.

I can't help but be reminded of the gap that was thrust between us that day. Even someone as experienced as Maris-senpai is at Level 2 probably wouldn't be able to take a Minotaur down in a single blow. And the distance between me and Maris-senpai has already been made clear to me.

Get up. I grit my teeth as I force myself to get to my feet.

If all I do is let other people help me… how the hell am I going to improve? If all I do is stay down and expect for something to happen, how will I ever become stronger?

If I want to catch up to her one day… I can't let Maris-senpai bail me out here!

When I finally get to my feet, I force myself to take a deep breath as the War Shadows begin to approach. Think, Bell, think!

The cuts aren't too deep–but they still hurt. And if I take a few more of these, I'll probably be in some real trouble. Just dodging and getting worn down by these War Shadows isn't an option. I have to counterattack at some point. Remember what Maris-senpai was talking about! As long as you use it correctly–

I intercept the first War Shadow's blow with my knife and knock its arm to the side. Instead of reversing the knife for a counter, however, I ball my hand into a fist and swing at its face. –any part of your body can be a weapon!

The punch plows into the War Shadow's head with a loud CRACK before it tips over listlessly, and I use my leg to kick it backwards into its comrades, who stumble as the monster's body hits them.

–You need every advantage you can get. Maris-senpai's words ring through my head, even as I dash forward and swing my knife hard enough to lodge it into another War Shadow's chest. It lets out a silent scream as it falls over, but I don't stop attacking.

I spin away from a swipe before responding with a kick that caves in a different War Shadow's chest. My fist lands an uppercut that makes another monster's head snap backwards mid-attack before it falls over. My knife tears through the necks of two more in a single swing.

I don't make it out unscathed, of course. The War Shadows' claws find their way to my arms, my legs, my body, and a few even scratch across my face when I'm only able to narrowly avoid the swipes aimed at my head. But for every hit they land, I respond in kind.

A War Shadow's head crumples underneath the weight of my fist before I dispatch the one next to it with my knife. I duck underneath a three-clawed swipe aimed at my head, ignoring the sting as another attack rakes across my body before jumping up and crushing the offending monster's head in with a backhand fist.

Whenever I have the chance to land an attack at full power, I take it. I'm both faster and stronger than they are. I don't need to worry about landing clean hits like they do! As long as I can hit either their head or their body, they're dead!

I kick a War Shadow in the chest hard enough to leave a foot-sized imprint and make it fall backwards before landing a downward slash with my knife that splits another one in half from its shoulder to its waist. Another War Shadow emerges, trying to take advantage of my off-balance position, so instead of resetting, I force myself to turn even further and land a punch to the side of its head that caves the monster's head in.

The monsters have backed off for a short moment, letting me catch my breath as I stare. I'm covered in wounds, yes–but none of them are deep, and what's more, almost half of the War Shadows are dead.

Maris-senpai was right. My knife, my fist, and my legs–they're all weapons that can kill these monsters.

With that realization set into stone in my mind, I suck in a deep breath and charge.

~~This is a Line Break~~

"Great stuff, kid!" I wince as Maris-senpai empties a potion over my head. The liquid stings as it runs over my wounds, but its effects can't be denied; I can feel my wounds already closing across my body. "That was some real impressive stuff you were dishing around out there. I thought I'd gotten a little too caught up in the moment and that it was maybe too much for someone as new as you to handle, but I'm glad that wasn't the case!"

Her hand ruffles through my hair again, and her face is beaming with pride. I, too, feel warmth inside at seeing that expression on her face. Gramps never mentioned anything about mentors and teachers when he was talking about adventuring, but I'm sure that they were part of an adventurer's romance as well. Maris-senpai is like… the best way I can kind of describe it is that she's like "the big sister I never had".

"That's the main thing I had to say about your combat skills. Aside from that, everything looks good. If you keep up what you're doing, I'm sure you'll be diving even deeper in no time!" Maris-senpai gives me a big thumbs-up with a cheery grin, but that expression quickly fades into something more serious. "But don't get overconfident, ya hear? I mean, you've probably heard Eina-san say it plenty of times, but–"

" " 'Adventurers shouldn't go on adventures'." " Both of us end up repeating Eina-san's motto at the same time with a laugh. Maris-senpai is the first to cut herself off with a shake of the head. "Seriously, though. Listen to Eina-san's advice. It'll save your life. That goes doubly more for someone solo like you, since you don't have someone to watch your back." There's another one of those flickers across her expression, again, but it's gone just as quickly as it came, and Maris-senpai regains her cheerful expression from earlier.

"Alright. Combat aside…" Maris-senpai puts a hand to her chin thoughtfully. "How good are you with injuries? First aid?"

"... hm?" This has taken a sudden turn I wasn't expecting. "Why're you asking about that, Maris-senpai?"

"Well, you're not planning on being a solo adventurer forever, right? Once you get past the 12th, you're probably going to join a party of some kind. That, or form up your own." She's right. With every level, the Dungeon gets progressively larger and more dangerous. Even people from Loki Familia, the city's strongest familia, party together when they go on expeditions to the Dungeon's deepest areas.

In response to my nod, Maris-senpai continues. "In that case, it's better for you to at least know how to do some basic first aid. It might help you in a pinch when you're running low on supplies or if you need to help a teammate or hell, even yourself. You never know when it might come in handy."

I nod again to show my understanding, and Maris-senpai grins. "Good. In that case…" Maybe it's just me, but her eyes seemed to be gleaming a little ominously just now…

"GYAHHHHHHHH!" I watch as suddenly, Maris-senpai lets out a loud wail of pain and collapses to the ground in a heap.

"S-senpai?!"

"Oh no, the impact of running away from that monster party just caught up to me! I think I broke my ankle!" She's rolling around in agony as she clutches at her leg. But all of a sudden, Maris-senpai sits up, grinning at me. "... is what I would say if I were actually wounded. But pretend like I am! What do you do in this situation?"

I move to grab one of the potions in my belt, but Maris-senpai is faster, her hand catching my wrist and firmly holding it in place. "Ahhh, ahp-ahp-ahp. No potions allowed. First aid is–" She's making a face again. "–it's more than 'pouring potions on top of a wound'. Potions can do a lot, but they aren't going to be able to substitute for everything, especially if injuries are bad bad, you know? It's better to treat wounds before applying potions, so the injury can heal up even faster–or, if you happen to have healing magic or a Status effect that heals you, that helps you save on supplies, especially when you're deeper in."

"U-understood." I nod.

"Alright, so! Broken ankle. Me, helpless. What do you do, Bell?" Maris-senpai stares at me expectantly.

I don't know the right answer, though. The first thought that comes to mind is to wrap it up, but that won't do anything about the broken bones, which are on the inside. I wrack my brain, but I can't think of anything.

Maris-senpai must see me struggling, because she begins trying to coax an answer out of me. "Come on, just give it a shot. I'm not gonna bop you on the head or anything if you get it wrong. No pressure! You're here to learn, right?"

"Yeah…" she's got a point. "Bandage it up, I guess?" That's probably not the right answer, but I don't really know what to do here.

"Ah, see, now that depends." Maris-senpai gives me a thoughtful look. "You'd have to see if the bone is sticking out of the skin first." The mental image that gives me makes me feel sick, but I force myself to keep listening. "If it's bleeding, you definitely wanna bandage it up before doing anything else. After that, you want to try and splint the break. You know how to make a splint?"

I shake my head. She shrugs. "Fair enough. Basically, you're trying to support the broken bone. You do that by finding something that's long and stiff enough to not bend or break, and then tying it to the broken area with some cloth and bandages to line things up right. Usually if it happens, I use something like my knife or any monster drops I've got on hand. Monster weapons and stuff you find in the Dungeon work just as well, but that really depends on where you are at the moment–it's a different situation between the Tree Labyrinth and the Water Capital, right?"

At my nod, she keeps going. "In an emergency where you really don't have anything… ugh…" she shudders. "... Look, I'm not saying this is a great option. But beggars can't be choosers, right? So if worst comes to worst… you can get away with cutting off a monster's limb or bones while leaving the Magic Stone intact and attached to use it as a splint. It's icky and gross though, so it really is a last-resort kinda thing. Just… trust me on this, yeah?"

From the nauseated expression on her face, I'm taking her word for it. This sounds like something Maris-senpai's had personal experience with, and not at all in a good way.

"Alright, cool, cool. What else…" Maris-senpai scratches her head. "Oh, right. When you're tying the splint, make sure you know where the break is. Take your time with it. You don't wanna make things worse. I mean, that's a rule for whenever injuries happen, of course. If there's one thing that you take away from me talking, it's to stay calm. Okay?"

"Okay!" I nod and commit her words to memory. But when I look up, I catch that expression on Maris-senpai's face again. This time, I recognize it.

That's probably why I can't stop myself from asking. "Senpai, are you alright?"

Her expression turns to surprise. "Hm? Where'd that come from?"

"Well, you… you looked sad." It's hard for me to describe, but she has that kind of expression that is sad and wistful and pained, all at the same time. "Are you okay?"

"... oh. I see." Maris-senpai smiles, but it's not like her normal smiles. This one doesn't really reach her eyes, and it looks forced. "I got caught up in my thoughts, I guess. A lot of what I'm telling you… it's actually all Hikitani's advice that he told me."

"Hikitani?" I don't recognize the name.

"Guess I haven't gotten rid of the habit…" she scratches her head. "Hikigaya is his actual name. Hikigaya Hachiman. Hikitani's just a nickname. He's…" To my surprise, even that weak, trembling smile fades away from Maris-senpai's face. "... he was a member of my party."

Oh.

"I-I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked about such a sensitive topic…" I make to apologize, but Maris-senpai holds her hand up.

"It's not what you think. He's not dead. It's just… we're not… we're not party members anymore." She fiddles with her hands as she stares at the ground. I also fall quiet, not knowing what to say. Asking for details would just be insensitive, but there's nothing else I can say.

I feel Maris-senpai's hand muss through my hair. "Don't worry about it, kiddo. It's my problem, not yours. You probably won't run into a problem like this. I'm just… not handling it very well, is all. It'll pass."

"I see." Maris-senpai's expression is still downcast, though. I can't do anything, but there's still something I can try. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Maris-senpai's expression doesn't quite lift, but I see a little bit of brightness return to her dull eyes as we begin to walk up towards the Dungeon's exit. "Maybe another time. For now, let's just say… well, let's just say that he and I go back a long ways. We've been friends for a long time now."

Afterword: This was supposed to be a Prologue, but, well. Oops. I got carried away. Have a long chapter to start the new Volume, for once.

Also, writing Bell is such a markedly different experience from writing Hikigaya, it's crazy.

One thing that's really interesting is that Bell's always written in the present tense, so that means he even thinks completely differently in comparison to all the other characters I've written from the perspective of. It kind of belies his "youth", in a sense, since he's processing things as they occur rather than reflecting on them in retrospective like Hikigaya or anyone older tends to do, I guess? Makes things really refreshing, at least from a writer's perspective in tackling this.

I forgot that Bell was a lot more amateurish at fighting than Hikigaya was, especially this early into his career when he hasn't started encountering Irregulars or even stronger monsters yet. I had to revise this chapter's fight scenes over and over, lol. Here, he's kind of caught in between Volume 1 and 2 of Danmachi proper, if the little details of events haven't helped with a timetable considering how fast the plot moves.

Anyways, welcome to Volume 3.5! This is moreso an anthology, with each chapter showing some important(?) part of the timeskip for Hikigaya and acting as its own self-contained story. I didn't really have a good lead-in, so I was like "What if I showed what Maris was doing while Hikigaya was in Meren? Surely she isn't doing nothing."

So, yeah. This prologue was the result of that. Hope you enjoyed! Let me know what you think! We are returning to biweekly releases, so see you guys soon!

Until next time,
Oreo the Cookie

Q&A Answers

Alikhan Ali: Thank you very much! I've planned Hikigaya's progression at least up to his Level Up to 4 and until he reaches the stats of an experienced Level 4. And yes, while it's a minor spoiler, I plan to have Hikigaya interact with Bell later on in the story eventually! And I have a vague idea as to the ending, but I'm not sure of the specifics yet!

bluecookie420: Thank you for your kind words! Genuinely appreciated. Yes, Volume 3.5 will have more fluff. As to what made me go back to writing fics, I am kind of ashamed to say it, but I just got… very distracted. I've found that I'm more of a planner than an improviser when it comes to writing, and I like to know what direction my stories are taking.

So a huge part of the hiatus was actually me being distracted by the planning of another fanfiction that I'm working on (200+ pages and counting! I'm really excited and hope to release it soon!), and then the other part was actually planning out the timeskip. And also, college. I came back to this because I felt really bad about not updating because of my distraction, because of the hype around Danmachi Volume 18, and finally Sage finishing TransDim on SpaceBattles (give it a check if you haven't read it already!) That gave me enough of a push to go back to updating, instead of neurotically letting the fic's manuscript marinate in more creative juices.

Hachiman fan: Alas, I am not an artist, and do not have the ability to draw.

Venom1462: I've got a good, solid idea of the next 3ish Volumes. After that, I don't know for sure–things get fuzzy. My favorite character in Oregairu is Hikigaya, with Yukinoshita a close second, and my favorite character in Danmachi is Ryuu, with Aiz as my second.

And once again, thank you to everyone else for their comments, compliments, and criticisms! See you soon!