Hey guys, Striker777 here. Been a while, hasn't it. I missed you guys. Luckily, this massive break around, there were no major catastrophes, except when I fucked my knee up during weightlifting. Word of advice kids. Apparently 150kg (330lbs) is completely fine, but 160 (352lbs) is not without some knee support. Keep that in mind. But that was a while ago, and with no uni, I'm much more free to do the things I love, like play video games and write.
Anyway, some exciting news, someone is now qualified forklift operator! Work offered a course last week, and I apparently get like 2 dollars extra an hour for having my license, so an extra $40 a week certainly isn't going to hurt me. Other than that, I have my very first weightlifting competition at the end of the month! Hoping to hit a few personal bests on my three major lifts, 170kg (374lbs) for deadlift and squat, and 120kg (264lbs) for bench press. I'll be sure to let you know how I go in the update following the comp.
Now for the reviews.
calderineric: Thanks, that was a spur of the moment decision I'm glad I did. Had a good chuckle writing it myself.
Shen1412: I feel for her, but the gods will do as the gods do. All she can do is pray she gets a better Alias next time around.
razorhusky234: Great question, so the current plan is as follows: Arc 3 will be focusing on the flashback sequences of LN 9 of the Sword Oratoria series as well as other relevant timeline events of that year, and concludes when Akihide reaches Level 3, then Arc 4 will encompass the Great Feud Events, before Arc 5 goes into a two year timeskip and will contain a trip to the Far East. Following that, the main canon of Bell and friends will begin. Hope this answered your question, and I look forward to walking this journey together.
Zykale Childs: Sure you can mate, you're the one reading this story, read it as you like. I'm just here to put the situations into words, it's up to you how you relate to them. Knock yourself out.
Jose19: Ais is introduced in Arc 3, which we are currently on, and will get much more character development in this story of 'coming out of her shell' and 'learning to lean on others'.
But anyway, you're here to read about Akihide, so onto the story!
Akihide took point as Kiddy Party made their way down the stairs the joined Floor 12 and Floor 13. Behind him was Ardee, her new sword sheathed at her hip, but her hand on the hilt, ready to draw it at a moment's notice. Airmid was next, their new main support and magic caster, whilst Ryuu was their vanguard, with her attack magic as well as her power with a sword, she was perfect for the role.
The four children, draped in cloaks of Salamander Wool provided by Ganesha himself as a small birthday and apology present for Akihide, made their way down further than most of them had ever been before. For Ryuu, the experience was uncommon but not new, as she had helped her senior Familia members fight on Floor 13 and 14, but acted as a pure supporter with Lyra going down further into the Dungeon. Now she was level 2, she was sure her Familia would let her fight with them on the front lines when on their occasional trip to Rivira, maybe even all the way down to Floor 17.
Bu that was for then and not now. The other three were going to step down into the Cave Labyrinth for the first time, so she had to be the one who was in command again. She was the party leader, so it was up to her to make sure everyone here got home safely at the end of the day. She looked ahead, noticing that Airmid was playing with a loose strand of her hair, Ardee was bouncing on the balls of her feet as they continued their descent, and Akihide's tail had been swinging around like a puppy about to get a bone from his owner.
The three of them were excited that they were going to Floor 13, which was understandable. Ryuu had been excited on her first trip to Rivira as well, she barely slept a wink the night before, but she had seen wonders of the Dungeon, such as the Wall of Grief, which was a beautiful sight to behold on Floor 17. She knew how horrible it was and what tremendous damage it was capable of when Goliath spawned, but when at times of peace, it was a beautiful crystal wall that lit up the otherwise soul wrenching environment of the Dungeon.
But that wasn't what was important at the moment. Right now, the only thing Ryuu should be focused on is making sure the three of them completed their job properly. Their little Denateus Day celebration in the Dungeon was no different than any other venture they took. They were going to play it safe, retreat from any abnormalities and ensure that at the end of the day, they all got home with all their limbs intact. It was a heavy responsibility, but as the leader of the party, it was her responsibility to bear. For the sake of those she called her friends, she would ensure their safety before her own.
She let those thoughts go as they made it to the bottom of the stairs and to a familiar (at least for her) location. With a collection of black and grey stones making up the walls, floor and ceiling, they knew for certain they had reached beyond what they had ever done before. "Floor 13..." muttered Akihide, taking in the sights. They were greeted by a large room that had several tunnels branching off in all different directions. Without a map or experience in this region of the Dungeon, it would be very easy for aspiring adventurers to find themselves lost in the mazes of this land.
Ardee pulled out the map given to them by Riveria. "Looks like we need to take the second tunnel from the left for a bit, until we get to the next chamber and we move through the next fork." she told the group, getting affirmative nods from the other three. "Until then, we can expect to run into Hellhounds, Almiraj, Lamia Mormos, Crystal Mantis and Dungeon Worms."
The three children had learnt all about the native monsters on Floors 13 to 17 since becoming level 2 thanks to Riveria, and Ryuu had actually had the opportunity to kill a few of those monsters with her Familia, so they were confident they knew how to kill them. They knew what they were capable off, their weaknesses, and the best ways to kill them.
"Let's get going." ordered Ryuu, getting the rest of the party in gear as they began making their way down to the path. Their eyes were open, watching the passageway as well as the walls in case the Dungeon decided to simply be done with them and spawn a bunch of monsters where they were. You could never be too careful in the Dungeon, so whilst Akihide looked solely in front, Ardee, Airmid and Ryuu kept their head on a swivel, watching the walls, and Ryuu keeping an eye on their six to make sure no monsters were following them.
Soon enough, Akihide held up his hand for the party to hold. The girls looked ahead at what he was seeing, noticing a shape in front of them. They focused their eyes, and noticed that what they were looking at was, in fact, a monster. Upon closer inspection, they realised that the shape meant it could only be one monster, a Dungeon Worm.
Dungeon Worms were purple, with rows and rows of razor sharp teeth. They were the slowest amongst the monsters of the Cave Labyrinth, but they made up for it with their razor sharp teeth and their capacity to dig through the floor of the Dungeon, if only for a few meters. They were akin to a purple, smaller and weaker Lambton. All in all, whilst not the biggest threat on the Middle Floors, they were certainly a monster to watch out for. Kiddy party knew they had to be careful now as well. After all, they didn't say the Cave Labyrinth was a numbers game for nothing.
When there was one monster, there was usually several more not a few meters away.
Ryuu looked at the monster. "The monsters on this Floor are smart enough to attack in groups, but aren't smart enough to set up ambushes. I think this Dungeon Worm is alone..." muttered the elf of the group. "Akihide, you might as well use it as target practice. Try throwing one of your kunai at it." she said, pointing to the monster just a bit further in front of them.
Akihide nodded, taking out one of the kunai from his belt, and held it by the bottom of the blade. He looked down at the monster, remembering all the practice he had put in to learning how to throw the knife properly, and all the holes he had put into his wall with his practice. Riveria had not been happy when she found out about it, but luckily placed a fairly large target in Akihide's room instead that he could use for target practice.
All that lead to this moment. Akihide gripped his knife, before pulling it back and throwing it at the monster. Akihide and the rest of his party watched as the monster was hit by the blade, but it didn't do much to it, only causing it to draw a small amount of blood, as well as alert it to their presence. "Didn't hit the stone." muttered Akihide, looking down in a bit of shame. Ryuu simply pat his back to get him back at full attention. "Right." he muttered, remembering where he was and how he had to stay completely focused. He was in the Dungeon, and as such, he had to be completely focused at all times.
The Dungeon Worm let out a disgusting sound as it sank it's mouth into the Dungeon floor and began to almost swim across it, which was freaking the members of Kiddy Party out slightly. However, the experienced adventurers did not falter and got into position, Ardee and Ryuu at the front, Akihide behind them and Airmid bringing up the rear. Ardee was the first to move, taking on the Dungeon Worm directly and slashing it across the body, decapitating it and destroying the magic stone. The monster erupted in an explosion of black dust that only left Akihide's knife behind. The group let out a sigh, realising that whilst they needed to keep their guard up, they knew what they were doing.
Ryuu made the call. "Let's head further in. We should start encountering some Hellhounds and Almiraj soon. Remember to keep your wits about you and the plan. Akihide will take out the Hellhounds before they can use their fire breath, and the rest of us are to keep the other monsters off his back." she ordered, reiterating the plan that the group had come up with a week ago when they decided to do their little 'After-Denateus Dungeon Crawl'. They knew the plan, now all they had to do was execute it.
The group got back into their initial formation and went down the next path, leading closer and closer to Floor 14, and below that, their prey.
Finn looked down at the papers on his desk, sifting and sorting them by relevance and priority in regards to how soon he needed them done by. There was the ever present threat of Evilus, where he was asked to supply some level 4 or above adventurers for an operation that the Ganesha Familia was to oversee. Noin, Dain and Bara were more than happy to volunteer, so it went into the non-essential pile, which was infinitesimally smaller than the absolutely-essential pile. There was the matter of Akihide, with his Rank Up, his new skill and then his alias (not to mention Loki's complaints about how Freya played a key role in it), just meant more paperwork that he had to sign and get out of his hair.
Speaking of Akihide, it would also be the very first time he was going down into the Dungeon with the rest of his Familia on an expedition. That would be coming up in just over a week, meaning there was a lot to prepare for, especially this time around, when there were to be a few inclusions to their current roster. Obviously not Ais, she was inexperienced and lacked the needed mental capacity to be part of the cohesive unit that was the Loki Familia's Dungeon Crawling team. With Akihide included, there was a new supporter for the upper levels of the Dungeon, at least for the first 17 floors of the Dungeon, for it was already decided that he would remain on Floor 18 as the rest of them descended with a few other level 2 members, as well as their two guests.
After the incident at the Stardust Garden, Finn came to learn just how truly horrifying Astraea could be when she wanted to, and was thankful that the goddess was a benevolent deity. However, after Akihide's new skill went off on it's own and he destroyed her Vice-Captain's sword, Astraea had only one request for him and Loki on how to make it right.
"Take Alise and Kaguya with you when you head on your next expedition. It'll be safer with you for them to reach level 3."
Yes, Astraea had simply asked that her Captain and Vice-Captain accompany them on their mission to become level 3. That meant that they would most likely be taking part in the Goliath Subjugation, where a group of no more than 6 level 2 adventurers would take on and defeat the Goliath in order to Rank Up. With the Loki Familia's Executives there, the shouldn't be an issue if things went sideways. Any one of them would be able to solo the Goliath, so it was the safest space for their members to push past level 2 and begin ascending again.
So, with the inclusion of Akihide Okami, Alise Lovell and Kaguya Gojouno, that bought the total amount of level 2s remaining on Floor 18 up to 9, with all of them baring Akihide being senior and experienced adventurers who had been to Floor 18 or below before. That meant that this could be a good opportunity for Akihide to really learn about Floor 17 and above, and on how to keep up his level up pace as he kept getting stronger and stronger and slowed down much more as his Excilia requirements became greater and greater with each passing level.
But that was to be considered later. Right now, he had more pressing paperwork to do, looking down at their needed materials list and began to split his forces up accordingly to maximise efficiency.
There was still so much left to do.
Finn allowed himself one moment to relax as his mind wandered for a moment. 'I wonder how Akihide and the others are getting on.'
With their increased training came the inclusion of strategy. Kiddy Party was drilled by Finn and Riveria on the importance of being prepared for any and all situations, and having an appropriate plan in place for any situation, which meant have some loose plans that could be changed to accommodate any situation. This, of course, included party positioning, where they figured out who would go where during any one moment inside the Dungeon.
They enacted one of their plans when they came under siege by a large number of Almiraj, as well as a pair of Crystal Mantis, a very rare monster in the Dungeon, let alone one not found on Floor 15. This plan was called Tri-Force (named by Loki), and was essentially a small protection detail around Airmid as she cast Lumine Pleiades over a large area, so Akihide, Ardee and Ryuu were close by, preventing any and all monsters from approaching her by cutting them down before they could get close. As the four of them had yet to learn concurrent chanting, it was the best way to ensure that Airmid was safe and able to perform at her optimal peak.
"Listen to my immature prayer, guide the flash." chanted Airmid as her party hacked and slashed at the incoming rabbit monsters, keeping them off her whilst she continued to chant. Come, shine of tears, defeat the filthy! Lumine Pleiades!" she called out, watching as a magic circle appeared above the largest group of monsters and light erupted and flew down onto them, killing many, and destroying quite a few magic stones, erupting the monsters into black smoke.
The group gave themselves three seconds to catch their breath, as Ardee slammed her fist into the wall a few times to prevent monsters from spawning. Physically, out of the four of them, Ardee had the most strength, out of all of them, followed by Akihide and then Ryuu. "Okay, so we're almost at the staircase, right? Should we cast healing magic or anything?" she asked.
Ryuu shook her head. "No, we should save our mind as much as possible. We'll need Airmid to focus on healing whilst Akihide boosts our stats when we go against the Minotaur, so we should keep our magic in reserve unless there are any major injuries to worry about."
The elf made sense. It would be basically suicide for adventurers to go against a Minotaur after just becoming level 2. However, with Akihide's magic and Airmid's healing magic, they were theoretically more than capable of dealing with the regular brown Minotaurs. With a 400 stat point boost, they were more than capable of dealing with a Minotaur if they planned correctly, as the monster was recommended that adventurers had at least one stat in F in order to beat it, but they would have two in E, so it shouldn't be much of a problem. They had planned carefully, and had decided ahead of time that Akihide would boost their Dexterity and Agility, whilst Airmid would be responsible for healing.
As the cracks Ardee mad began to heal, the group decided it was time for them to move. They stood up, brushed off their clothes, and began making their way down one of the corridors, their destination in sight. As level 2s, they were just at the start of their journey, as Floor 15 was really only near the earliest levels that a level 2 could safely explore. Excluding Goliath, a level 2 party could go down all the way to Floor 24 if they had the right stats, gear and skills, at least according to the Guild, but most Familia also went off their system. Level 1 was Floor 1 to 12, 2 was 13 to 24, 3 was 25 to 31, 4 was 32 to 39, 5 was 40 to 49, and 6 was Floor 50 and beyond, at least according to the info the Guild had given them. Until the Familia got stronger, the Guild withheld all the info from the Zeus and Hera Familia from Floor 51 and beyond.
With that being said, as a group of level 2 adventurers just beginning their journey to Floor 15, they had nothing to worry about in terms of info. Floor 15 was completely mapped out, with several of their Familia having cleared Floor 15 a long time ago. And so, the group knew exactly what they were doing in regards to Floor 13 through to 15. In fact, the only Floor that had yet to be fully mapped out were Floors 33 and below. Zeus and Hera had been more interested in clearing the lower floors of the Dungeon, but the battle of the Frontiers had been taken care of by some of the other Familia that had been active and strong during their time, such as the Neith and Horus Familia, who had unfortunately died during the Three Great Quests when acting as supporters for the Zeus and Hera Familia.
But that was neither hear nor there, as they made their way to the staircase that lead down to Floor 15, and the monster they were looking for. "This is it..." muttered Akihide, an excited smirk adorning his face as he took the first step to the adventure of Floor 15, Ardee following close behind. Airmid came next and Ryuu bought up the rear, as they descended further into the Dungeon.
Soon they left the stairs, looking at the larger corridors that made up Floor 15. Wider and taller than those of the two floors above them, their faces were rugged and sharp, promising to cut into anything that touched them. Kiddy Party looked around at the room, getting a lay of the land before looking down at their map. "Okay, to find a Minotaur, we'll have a better chance in the southern end of the floor, but they can wander around at any part, so keep an eye out and say something if you see one." ordered Ryuu, rolling the map back up after pointing out their path to the group and began to march towards the tunnel. Kiddy Party followed close behind her, hands on their weapons and ready to act at a moment's notice.
That would turn out to be their saving grace, as when they had reached the halfway mark, a loud roar sounded through the tunnel, and heavy stomps came down upon the floor just a little further down the path they were on. The group watched as a Minotaur appeared, stepping out of the shadows of the corridor, catching sight of them and roaring. "We need to be careful now. Akihide, start chanting." ordered Ryuu as she drew her sword, as the Minotaur roared once more and went to attack them.
Akihide held his hands out and began to chant. "On the divine path up the mountain's edge. Guide my unworthy soul down the path of the gods. Showcase your brilliance and give this body the power the bestow your blessed might onto others. Let the gates of heaven open up and allow your holy power to flow. Sixth Gate: Kibin no Mon!" he cast, increasing the agility stats of Ryuu, Ardee and Airmid by 400 points. It allowed Ryuu to easily out speed the Minotaur's attack, as Ardee rushed in to attack it. Akihide wasn't done, however, as he recollected himself and went to chant once more.
"Under the Tori Gates upon my path. In way to the path of heaven, to join the gods. My soul becomes cleansed, letting divine power flow through me. Allow the divinity of heaven's gates become my power to bestow upon others. Fifth Gate: Kiyo-sa no Mon!" he cast once more, overlapping his previous magic to improve the dexterity of the three other members of his party as well. The grace of the swings of their two warriors increased, and the Minotaur soon found himself on the defensive. The blades of Ardee and Ryuu, forged from the materials of the dragon they had slain together, sliced through the Minotaur's hide like a knife through warm butter, drawing blood as they went and causing the Minotaur to roar in pain.
However, not everything could go their way, as the Minotaur lashed out randomly, slamming a fist into Ryuu's stomach and sending her into the wall, causing her to cough up blood as she collapsed. Fortunately, they had planned for this as Airmid pointed her staff at the elf and began chanting her own magic.
"Healing droplets, tears of light, eternal sanctuary." she began, as a magic circle appeared under her, despite her lack of the Mage Development Ability. The group chalked it up to Mystery, but it boosted her power so they weren't going to complain. "Compose a medicinal hymn-three hundred, sixty, and five. The melody of the healer's almanac saves all things. Come, destruction of evil. The burial of wounds, interment of disease. Curses be gone in the light of vitality. In the name of all that is holy - I heal you." she finished chanting as she focused her magic where the Minotaur was, where both Ryuu and Ardee were in range for her magic. "Dia Fratel!"
The same magic circle appeared where she designated, ten meters across and covering more than the corridor where the fight was happening in her powerful healing magic. Ryuu could feel her strength returning, her pain becoming a numb sensation that quickly disappeared, and her stamina being restored. It felt similar to Akihide's healing magic, but was much stronger in it's effects, allowing the young Renard to focus more on enhancement. This allowed Kiddy Party to reach their maximum potential, beyond what any party of fresh level 2 adventurers should be able to achieve.
With the healing having done the job, Ryuu rushed back into combat, rejuvenated and ready for combat. Ardee was certainly thankful for the support, as she slashed the monster across the chest and backed off to allow Ryuu to swing her sword at the Minotaur's back. The beast roared in pain as it looked between the two, trying to chose a target, but was too slow, as the two slashed in unison once more, striking each side. The Minotaur fell to the ground, bent on one knee and holding it's sides to stop the bleeding, only to leave it's head completely exposed, which allowed the blonde elf to stab her sword through the head of the beast, killing it. The Minotaur gargled blood for the last few moments of its life, before falling to the ground, dead.
The group looked on at the corpse in amazement, smiles between the three of them as they took in the sense of accomplishment. They had killed a Minotaur on their first dive as level 2 adventurers, something not many could brag of, if any at all. The group cheered and congregated in a group hug (Ardee had to drag Ryuu into it), celebrating that they had accomplished something great.
Akihide looked down at the Minotaur, smirking as he turned his gaze further down into the cavern, into the unknown of the Dungeon.
'Next stop, Floor 18.'
Hope you guys enjoyed that. Next up will be Akihide entering the Dungeon as part of an expedition. Look forward to that, but for now, enjoy an omake about Vanadis Odr.
Omake: Akihide Okami - Vanadis Odr (5)
Akihide looked up at the giant woman towering over him, feeling an overwhelming presence that almost forced him to step back, if he could get his legs to work. The giant lady, who was somehow a dwarf despite the fact being taller or as tall as the two elves who were at the dinner table a few days earlier, looked down at the boy with judging brown eyes, as though she was staring right into his soul.
She bought a hand to her forehead and sighed. "Honestly... that Goddess..." she muttered, looking at the ceiling before looking back down to the boy. "So Freya wants you to work here, does she?" she asked the Renard, getting a hesitant nod. "Not sure why, honestly that Goddess can be such a pain sometimes." she said before looking back at the boy. She ruffled his hair, getting him to lower his guard as she smiled. "The names Mia, but you can call me Mama Mia or just Mama. Got that?" she asked.
"Y-yes, Ms Mi-" began Akihide, before he was slapped lightly upside the head, getting a stern look from the taller woman. "M-Mama Mia."
The smile returned. "Good job kid. Seems you follow orders easy enough. Have you ever cooked before?" she asked, knowing the answer already, but needing to make sure. No way a kid that age was a cook.
"I-I helped my mother make meals at home..." he muttered, looking down. "I-I can only make onigiri on my own though." he said with a shaky voice, obviously not proud of it.
Mia smiled. "Onigiri... I've never heard of that before. Mind showing me?" she asked the boy, getting an affirmative, if a little hesitant, nod. She smiled as she lead him into the kitchen, asking what he needed.
Hedin entered the kitchen early in the morning. He had much to do that day, swamped with the paperwork that Ottar offloaded onto him due to his 'duty to protect their goddess', which he should be doing, but also knowing Allen would be incompetent in completing the mountain of paperwork that was piled up on his desk. He needed coffee, and enough to keep Balor awake, being deprived of sleep and not awake enough to deal with the bullshit life that came with being a member of the Freya Familia.
He was surprised, however, to find the young boy from yesterday already in the kitchen, a small mess of dishes and empty food containers spread around him as he was apparently working on something. Hedin didn't care much for the boy, but he needed a distraction before he began his day, so he walked over to the young fox boy and looked over his shoulder. "And what exactly are you doing?" he inquired accusingly.
Akihide was startled, jumping up in his seat with a small help and flinging something just past Hedin and onto the table behind them. The young boy began shrinking under the gaze of the elf senior, but answered. "M-making... onigiri..." muttered the boy, looking back at the bench, where Hedin noticed a large array of rice balls, some with some colour poking out the side. "Ms Mi- Mama Mia wants me to make some to sell at the pub." he explained to the man, before turning around and picking up one in the middle. "Would you like one? I made the filling elf herbs."
Hedin was ready to shoot the boy down, but decided against it as to not insult or upset his goddess further. He took the rice ball from the boy, noticing a small hint of green at the centre, and took a bite. He chewed for a few seconds, before swallowing and looking down at the boy. "The flavours are too bold. Elves like subtler flavours, so tone back on the sauce a bit and it should be better." he said, giving his honest critique. "It's good though."
True to his word, the onigiri was good. It could be better, but it was a good start. Akihide himself seemed very happy with the compliment, smiling warmly at the executive elf, who took a step back. 'Wha-what?!' he though, looking at the smiling face of the boy. 'What kind of weapon is this?! Is this a charm?!' he thought to himself.
No. As it turned out, Akihide was just such a warm person that no one wanted to upset him, and his smiles were more contagious than any disease.
Hedin sighed. "Can I take a few on a plate? I need breakfast before I start with some paperwork." he asked the boy, getting an even wider smile as he nodded and gave the elf everything he wanted. Hedin gathered his coffee and went to leave.
"I'll bring you some for lunch!" called out the young boy to his senior, smiling with the warmth that could warm up the 59th Floor. "Hang in there!"
Hedin couldn't help but feel a small smile dash across his lips. "Thank you."
And there you have it, Akihide working with Syr, Anya and Mia. I wonder how that's gonna go. Anyway, thanks for reading, and for now, this is Striker777, over and out.