AN: I forgot to mention something in the last chapter. Aeshma and all of the previously mentioned Adventurers of his Familia are canon…ish. They are antagonists of the DanMachi Orario Rhapsodia game, just wanted to add that.
Chapter 12
Three weeks ago
"Pretty please…" The Goddess of Mischief groaned, her head planted on the table in her office. "Somebody please just kill me."
"As tempting as that idea is," Riveria Ljos Alf sat on a sofa a few feet away from her table. "Finding a new patron deity in such little time would be too troublesome for our liking." The royal elf took a warm cup of tea to her mouth, a sly smirk on her face for her Goddess to see.
"Mama, please. Not in the state for banter." The Goddess rubbed the side of her head, the clear repercussions of yesterday's drinking already coming to haunt her. The memories of it coming hitting her like a hammer to the head, which was the very same thing her head felt like.
Being humiliated while at the Hostess, Bete 'passing out' after picking up a fight, and finally her precious captain being disregarded as if he was just a plain nobody. All three events with the same person in the center of it.
"… That damn blonde." Her eyes slightly opened. "I am gonna strangle him the next time I see him."
Gareth snorted. "I would pay to see that. Don't go on crying for help though."
Loki let out a groan. "Bah! You heard him, he claimed not to be an Adventurer! Even someone like me can do some damage."
"Are you sure about that?"
All eyes were set on Finn, the pallum sitting on the chair near the other side of the room with narrow eyes.
"You didn't detect any lie when he claimed that?"
"Not a single one." The captain moved his head down to ponder a little. "What? Did your magic thumb act up or something?"
Finn laughed the idea off. "It's just pure intuition." He sighed. "And no, It didn't act up. However, there are some factors that keep bothering me regarding yesterday's event."
Riveria raised an eyebrow, even if she knew one of the reasons at hand, she was curious about the rest.
"First of all, he was overly confident. Previous conversations indicate that he was not from around here, and had no knowledge whatsoever of our Familia's reputation, no normal person would dare to stand up against someone like Bete or me otherwise. But even so, the confident he gave made me thing he wouldn't have any problem in raising arms against all of us."
Riveria narrowed her gaze, the clear memory of him addressing their whole table still livid in their minds. She saw Finn's point, no one would make such claims in opposite odds unless they were confident in their abilities.
"It all points to him being an Adventurer." Gareth stated, to which Loki shook her head. "Nope. As I said, not a single lie was detected."
"A deity's lying detection can only do so much." She looked at Riveria. "It's all a matter of perspective. He may have a Falna for all we know and not consider himself an Adventurer at all. It is that simple."
Loki averted her eyes from the elf, a silent groan escaped her lips for having no counter argument to Riveria's reasoning.
"Next, there's the rumor regarding what happened recently in the Dungeon. From what little we do know, he fits the profile of the individual described fighting against the Goliath alongside Tsubaki." Finn said. "I have already told many of our own to keep an ear open in case they hear something about him. But even if all we have are rumors, they perfectly describe him as being the one. It's all too accurate to be just a coincidence."
"No room for argument there." The dwarf nodded as he already guessed the next subject. "What happened to Bete can't be considered coincidence or just sheer luck."
"How's he by the way?"
Gareth snorted. "Take a guess."
'He was raging.'
That was everyone's collective thoughts regarding the werewolf's state of mind.
"He's also been complaining about his head-"
"So, he's got a hangover, tell him he's not the only one and stop making a damn drama about it." Loki exclaimed, her headache still making knocks in her brain.
"I am afraid it's not that kind of headache." Gareth laid back on his chair. "The lad claims he felt as if a war hammer had completely pulverized his head."
Riveria fought the urge to snort. "Typical, blaming his drunkenness. He clearly passed out the moment his head hit the ground."
"He wasn't that drunk. And also, it's his other claim that catches my attention."
Riveria raised an eyebrow.
"And that is?"
"That he felt a pair of chains pulling his legs to fall."
Everyone gave him a blank. Because It sounded like an excuse to cover up his drunkenness.
"He also claims to have heard them…" after giving a little thought to his own words, his own belief wavered. "… You were saying, Finn?"
Finn chuckled at the clear intent of changing the subject. But he supposed now that was a good time to address the last reason to doubt the blonde, and the most delicate one.
"Ais," The Pallum said, earning the attention of the young girl sitting on the other end of the sofa she was sharing with Riveria. "Why did you behave like that?"
The Sword Princess just stared at the floor, as she had been until now. She gripped her first, her empty gaze remained. "He reminded me of IT."
Everyone became wary, having a good idea of what that IT might be. But none dared to say the word.
"His presence, his eyes…" she embraced herself, her whole body slightly trembled. "It was the same as the Black Dragon."
The temperature of the room dropped, and eyes looked drastically at the girl.
"Ais," Riveria softly rested her hand on the girl's shoulder. "Are you sure?"
The young Adventurer nodded slowly. The elf quickly focused on the Pallum, who was resting his elbows over his knees while his hands remained intertwined, his forehead making contact with it.
"…" his calculative gaze focused on Loki. "We are not going to the Hostess for a while."
Loki's eyes snapped open. "No fair! Don't you think you are being a little too drastic!? What about my alcohol?"
"There's plenty here, you pretty much have a cellar of your own." The Dwarf intervened, seeing as Finn's expression left no more room for jokes as of right now.
"And what about my other needs!?"
Riveria pinched the bridge between her eyes. "Harassing girls isn't something to be thinking of right now, Loki."
She groaned, and slammed her head on her table once more, which didn't help her current headache at all.
"Good. I seem to recall him and Mia talking about spending only a few days there, I will have someone keeping an eye on the place from time to time to see if he's still there."
"And what are we gonna do regarding him specifically?" Gareth asked, to which Finn shook his head.
"It's too early to act, and still have too many gaps of information regarding him. We don't know if he's actually blessed, or if he's capable of causing any harm. So the best thing to do is to stay away from him and not address him if anyone from the Familia encounters him until we learn something valuable," Finn narrowed his eyes. "or he does something that forces us to act."
Present
"Loki damn it all." Finn stated, a heavy sigh leaving his mouth.
Riveria had made contact with the subject of interest, whose name they had yet to know. Even if she and Lefiya had made contact with him, nothing worth reacting to had happened.
Her complaints about his lack of manners were quickly discarded, since he already knew how the blonde regarded them first hand.
What did get his attention were Riveria's claims regarding that he was not only working in the Hostess, but also studying the knowledge the Guild left open to the public.
When asked about it, the Adventurer's that had walked around the Hostess simply claimed he was there, but never gave any kind of indication of working there when they caught a glimpse of him.
He had to pretty much order his own to restrain Loki seeing as she wanted to pick a fight for the sole reason of him managing to get hired by Mia and, in her own words, 'be surrounded by so many beautiful gals.'.
But that wasn't where the problem lay. Ais had also been struggling a little at the mere mention of him, but she was already ordered once more not to approach him or the pub. Bete on the other hand had continued with his raging regarding how he didn't faint and lost consciousness, followed by comments regarding how he wasn't drunk or hallucinating.
Of course, the werewolf tried to go to the pub. But Gareth had made sure to force him on the ground until he calmed down… or just accept not to seek the blonde until told otherwise.
Truth to be told, he didn't know how long it would take for those two to act, either by their own volition, or by pure coincidence of fate.
"I need him for tomorrow."
"That sounds like a you problem."
Hostess of Fertility, Thursday night, just a day away from the sweet weekend. And despite the fact that Orario didn't have the same concepts of weekends as the one for Remnant, it was still treated as the end of a full week's work.
"You literally could have asked him in the last days, and you choose exactly tomorrow for him to go into the Dungeon." Mia Grande narrowed her eyes from behind the counter as the half-dwarf shrugged as she kept munching spherical pieces of food.
The exchange continued as many of the Adventurer's that were close by kept an ear open.
"Here's your food."
An Adventurer snorted at the sound of a male voice that had become rather familiar in the Hostess. "Don't know whether to envy you or pity you." The man replied as he stared at Drake, who simply sighed. "Two women are fighting over you, but then I gotta give it a second thought at seeing who those two are."
Drake snorted as he walked past the Adventurer. "At least I got women fighting over me." His words fell like a thrust straight to the Adventurer's pride as his friends laughed it off.
"Done for the night." Drake sat next to Tsubaki and moved his hand to pick a piece of food from Tsubaki's plate, only to be blocked by a pair of chopsticks. "You do know I cooked those, right?"
"Yeah, I also remember you made the grill for it in my forge." There was a clear tone of grudge in her tone. "A first class forge, and the one thing you decided to make is a Takoyaki grill? Seriously?"
The blonde gave her a blank expression as she took another one to her mouth. "How's the taste?" his question came up right as the blacksmith swallowed and looked at him with a straight expression.
"Marry me."
All of the waitresses sighed, while all of the patrons either spit their food or froze in place.
"Pay her no mind." Lunor stood front and center. "It's not the first time she's pulled this." She looked at Drake. "And as for him-"
"No." The blonde said, managing to snatch some of her food while every man looked at him with irritation.
"He always rejects her. Try not to think too much about-"
"Burn in hell!" Everyone men exclaimed, making Lunor sigh at their clear lack of faith in the opposite gender.
"Can you please postpone this?" Mia got their attention.
"You know the rules of our agreement, Mia." He pointed at Tsubaki. "This glutton gets priority over my time."
The glutton in question just kept eating in delight.
"Just asking for a damn day. Besides," she crossed her arms. "You have been eating for free here ever since bland and edgy over there started working here."
"Oi." Drake stated, slightly offended by the comment. Tsubaki on the other hand smirked at her. "Because I am his wonderful benefactor."
"Wonderful it's a little much."
The Blacksmith ignored his comment. "Besides, he's using ingredients he bought himself with his own money. So don't come here patronizing about using yours."
"Still cooked in my kitchen though."
Both narrowed their gazes at each other. "Can you really say that after paying under the minimum while pretty much doing double the work of your girls?"
Murmurs could be heard around the Hostess.
"So that's why she hired him, poor thing."
"What a tyrant."
"That's the little giant for you."
And so went on, until Mia's annoyed expression flowed through the whole pub. "Anything you wanna say?"
"No Ma'am!"
Mia sighed as she calmed down.
"What's the real reason as to why you are so adamant on needing me tomorrow? I know it's the busiest day of the week, but I am sure you and the girls can make it."
"And I would agree. But we are gonna be kind of short staffed tomorrow."
He raised an eyebrow, to which Mia understood his doubt.
"Syr has an emergency, she needs to be out tomorrow."
Drake groaned. "The one day where I am free of her, and I can't be here, now that's a shame."
The little giant shook her head at the clear dislike of the girl.
"But that's just one waitress." Tsubaki made a motion to the whole place. "I am sure it's not gonna be the end of the world for just one waitress. Unless you gave permission to another one."
Mia was about to reply, but someone else beat her to it.
"That would be me."
Drake sighed as he looked to the side and saw the one other waitress, he kind of had a problem with.
"Elf."
"Brute."
Tsubaki sweat dropped at the interaction between the two. Despite starting with a clean slate from their initial problem, their dislike for one another still remained, although in tolerable levels.
And it also seemed kind of funny in her opinion.
"I have special permission from Mama to be absent myself for a couple of days."
He narrowed his eyes. Her tone didn't hold any hostility or antagonism, and her face carried a little bit of sadness despite being as stoic as ever.
His eyes moved slightly over her head to see the word 'Remembrance' above her.
"Ok."
Ryuu Lyon blinked, as did Tsubaki and Mia seeing it was one of the few times he continued their verbal scuffle.
"It seems important, you wouldn't ask for Mia a monthly leave permission if it wasn't." he stated, making the elf close her eyes and give a small bow in understanding.
"I take it you will stay tomorrow, right?" Mia had a forced smile on her face, to which Drake eyed Tsubaki before both replied.
"Not happening bro." both replied, making Mia sigh in defeat.
"If it makes you feel any better. I will try to be faster than usual."
Mia rubbed the back of her neck. "I appreciate it." she stared at Ryuu, an idea popped up in her head. "Say, Ryuu will be also heading in the Dungeon as well, why don't you-"
"Nope/I refuse." Both the blonde and elf replied simultaneously.
"It would be a test of my patience, not to mention having her glaring daggers at me from the back will be a pain in the ass." He stated his reasoning.
"From what I have heard from Miss Collbrande about him breaking her blades, I can already tell he's rather reckless with his dungeon diving. Not to mention that judging by how much he loots for her, adds more reason to believe the way he does things is rather risky."
'She's not wrong in that regard.' The Hephaestus Familia Captain thought as the elf continued.
"I would rather go down with any other Adventurer than him."
Right on cue, the Adventurer that Drake had addressed before stood up and prepared to speak his mind, only to freeze in an instant as he received the elf's coldest glare and a single unspoken command.
'Sit'
The elf composed herself and addressed the group once more. "Besides," she looked at him. "He always heads up at first light in the early morning. I'll head down later."
"Not my fault you need your beauty sleep." He ignored her glare and focused on Mia. "I will try to finish the job as quickly as possible, that's all I can guarantee you."
Mia Grande nodded reluctantly before looking at Ryuu, who gave another slight bow before walking away while Drake eyed her with a little bit of concern as the word 'Guilt' also appeared above her head. And he doubted it was for what just happened.
"I am gonna leave you two now. Need to speak with May about that recent behavior she's been picking from you?"
Tsubaki raised an eyebrow.
"Behavior?"
"For fucks sake Mai-Mai! How many times have I told you not to use too much honey when marinating the chicken!"
Mia sighed, her thumb pointing at the direction of the kitchen. "I am happy she's more secure of herself. But that tyrant attitude is getting even on my nerves."
"Then it's working."
Both stared at the blonde, but Mia looked at him with an annoyed look.
"A head chef must be as skilled and knowledgeable of the kitchen and as ruthless, merciless, to the staff so they can learn. They are like the Generals of the kitchen."
Mia groaned in annoyance. "Don't take it the wrong way, but that sounds like something Freya would say."
Oh, he took full offense to that. "Do I look like an over-glorified Karen to you?"
She shrugged. "I don't know what that means."
"What are you!?" May's screams could be heard once more.
"A stupid sandwich!" one of the cooks exclaimed, making Mia walk out into the kitchen to have her talk with May.
"Anyway…" Tsubaki gave Drake a piece of paper in between munches. "This time's request."
"Let's see how much you are gonna make me gather you damn slave-" his words died in his mouth, only for his eye to twitch as he re-read the words written in the paper. "Oi." The Blacksmith ignored him. "Do I look like a fucking miner to you?"
His services only extended to monster drops. But materials that could be found in the dungeon like Adamantite, Blood Onyx and Nosteel could also be found there.
"Good to know reading the whole library in the guild made you familiar with those. Saves me the time of explaining." She eyed him and even ignored his scowl. "Oh, don't bitch about it. with your strength and your 'inventory' bullshit it will be a piece of cake. I mean, it's not like you are gonna have to carry a giant ass bag while fighting."
He groaned. "It's easier getting drops when the Dungeon behaves like a bitch with me. Monster just come at me like if I was fucking catnip. But now I will also have to actually search the damn floor. But that's just the top of the iceberg." He eyed her critically. "A Goliath's tooth and the Amphisbaena's Dragon Liver? These are Floor Boss drops, you bitch!" he whispered furiously.
"Too much for you?" she asked jokingly, to which he snorted.
"As if."
This was going around their initial agreement with Hephaestus. Only the first forty floors, and no Monster Rex fights to not risk the Dungeon pulling another abnormal boss on him. So, why is that she approved this seeing her signature at the end of the paper said she agreed to it.
"How did you convince her? out of the both of you, she's the responsible eyepatch."
Her lips twitched. "First of all, rude. Also, she was just… in a sort of mood this time."
He narrowed his eyes. Seeing as Tsubaki had given quite the fame to her own Goddess, it wasn't hard to figure out how she did it.
"She was complaining about that Crozzo guy again, wasn't she?"
She laughed. "Even better, they were having an argument as she was signing some papers."
He sighed and let out a mutter. "Red heads and their fucking drama… fine. It says here they are optional. I think I should be able to handle them in a moderate way."
Tsubaki gave her a thumbs up as she finished her Takoyaki.
"Now that we are on this. The number of items in general is rather big this time. More than usual. Too much work?"
She shook her head and pointed at him while munching.
"… my fault? How is it my fault?"
Tsubaki sighed after swallowing. "I haven't been able to recreate your clothes to an acceptable margin with all the Familia resources… at least those I was able to get away with using seeing that apparently being a captain doesn't mean I can abuse my position. Can you believe that?"
He rolled his eyes.
"Oh no, the tragedy."
She ignored the blandness in his voice and gave him an astonished expression. "I know right! Anyway, I also haven't been able to forge anything to tolerate your Aura, even if every blade I give you is better than the last one."
He was currently with the eighth without counting the first blade she gave him in the dungeon.
"So I need to step up on the materials I use."
"Seems like a lousy excuse to me. You sure it isn't your Blacksmith's ski-" he never managed to finish the sentence, as a smiling Tsubaki made a slight pressure on his shoulder.
*Crack*
"You sure you wanna finish that sentence?" The smile on Tsubaki Collbrande's face may have looked like her usual one, but the deadly energy around her was just an extra.
"… Your Dragon Slayer skill is bullshit." He pushed her hand away before applying pressure in his nearly broken shoulder.
"You are the last person I wanna hear that from." She replied as he stood up to turn on for the night.
"Wait-" she started, empty plate in hand. Only to be stopped by the blonde.
"I am not making you more."
She pouted, the simple action of it made Drake's eyes roll as he walked away. "Go home Tsubaki."
"Nah." She followed him up the stairs. "It's too late already. Mind if I crash with you?"
"There's only one single one bed in my room."
She shrugged. "Sharing is caring."
The whole bar once more just stared at the exchange as they finally disappeared into the second floor. But not without hearing one final sentence.
"I will let you be on top if you want."
Several hands were slammed on their respective tables as every male Adventurer in the pub made their voice be heard.
"GO TO HELL!"
Lunor facepalmed. "She's messing with all of you again, you idiots! She rented a room earlier!"
Rose Fannet internally sighed.
It wasn't even seven in the morning and yet here she was at the entrance of the Dungeon with a stoic expression on her face .
That's a lie.
Despite her professional demeanor, the werewolf was to the brink of passing out thanks to the last couple of days.
*Yawn*
Her companion wasn't doing any better. Although Eina Tulle at least tried her best to stay awake.
"Were you able to find anything?" the redhead asked after addressing a woman with blue hair and orange themed battle costume.
"I am afraid not." Shakti Varma, the captain of the Ganesha Familia, replied back after she and several of her Familia members exited the Dungeon. "We were able to reach it but it dug its way deeper into the Dungeon. To make things worse, we felt as if the tremors became stronger as we went up."
Rose scowled.
"This is getting worse ." Rose nearly let out a tone of complaint while Eina gave a step forward. "We requested the help of Loki Familia. Their group was sent into the Dungeon last night."
Several groans and complaints could be heard from the Ganesha Familia Adventurers, a clear indication they had crossed paths.
"Oh, we know." Shakti pinched the bridge between her eyes. "I am not one to degrade other races to mere animals or inferior beings;" she scowled. "But Finn better does something about that stupid mutt or I will put him to sleep myself."
"How useless do you have to be to not even corner a single monster!? Go back to the surface and patrol, it's the only good thing your Familia is good for!"
The memory of Bete Loga insulting every single one of them came fresh to mind as that was only one of a few other insults thrown at them.
"I hope the Amazon sisters are able to keep a leash on him. Otherwise, I am pretty sure he's gonna kill someone this time." Shakti gave the Guild member an amused look, which she returned. "What? I am also a werewolf, I get to do as many dog jokes as I want."
"On a more serious matter. Hasn't Vanargand been on edge lately... well, more than usual I mean?" Eina's question was answered by a single shrug from both of them.
"Rumor has it he knocked himself out while picking a fight with someone. And that he hit his head so hard that not even Dia Saint was able to cure his headache." Shakti sighed. "Poor Airmid also got the bad end of his attitude after that."
"Someone should put a muzzle on him."
"Agreed." Both Shakti and the Guild members replied, some of them with a chuckle, only to blink at each other after realizing none of them had said that.
"I don't know. A shock collar would be more suitable."
They turned around to see Tsubaki Collbrande approaching the Dungeon's entrance where they were standing alongside a familiar blonde that both Rose and Eina recognized.
"Wait, how does that work? You got that from where you are from?"
He nodded. "The collar would sense when the Dog's vocal cords start to operate, resulting in sending him a shock every time they move."
"That's animal cruelty!" She replied before her eyes started to shine with a stoic expression. "Think you can make one?"
"Cyclops." Shakti muttered, all of them giving her a disapproving look.
"What? It's Loga! You yourselves just said he's been more of a bitch than usual." It wasn't immediately, but all three women reluctantly nodded while Drake just stared.
"Can we please drop the dog puns already?"
The two guild members stared at him; one with a neutral expression, while the other one simply scowled.
"You." Eina Tulle scowled, which was easily ignored as Rose gave a step forward.
"It's been a while." Drake simply nodded, the urge to sigh intensifying knowing things were about to become annoying. "You decided to become an Adventurer?" she hypothesized seeing he was not only with the Captain of the Hephaestus Familia, but also heading into the Dungeon apparently.
"Weird. I think I would have come across a form with your picture if you did."
"I'm pretty sure I told you something along the lines of 'I am not an Adventurer, nor do I plan to be one' the last time we met."
"And yet here we are, in the entrance of the Dungeon." Rose's lip moved upwards while Eina's scowl remained.
"He's not registered in the Guild." The half-elf included herself in the conversation. "I have been at the front desk dealing with new applications for that last month during most of my time. I never saw his form or his face around the guild."
Rose looked critically at the blonde as Eina gave her reasoning, and let her continue.
"Tell me," Eina looked at Tsubaki, who at this point had a neutral face. "Is Hephaestus Familia keeping members unregistered from the Guild and keeping vital information about their members secret?"
It was in that moment that Rose Fannet understood that letting Eina Tulle continue had been a big mistake, as even Shakti softly facepalmed at the accusation thrown by the half-elf.
"Girl." Tsubaki started. Her voice was serious and lacking any semblance of humor as she usually did. "I wonder if that courage of yours will remain when I report you to your superiors."
Eina's heart skipped a beat at the sound of that.
"…Huh!? Report? Why!? I am only indagating whether or not he's an unregistered member of your Familia."
"No, girl." Tsubaki replied, once again putting an emphasis on addressing Eina in such a way. "You are throwing a baseless accusation at my Familia without proof or evidence to back up your words."
Sometimes, Drake Aurion forgot that the buffoon next to him was someone who had earned the rank of captain in her Familia. Someone who despite how she usually was, still earned the fear and respect of her fellow members and pretty much answered for important circumstances when Hephaestus wasn't around.
Right now he wasn't standing next to the easy going blacksmith; but the Captain of the Hephaestus Familia.
"So, he isn't one of Hephaestus's children?" Rose stood next to Eina, in a clear intent of not letting the younger Guild member dig deeper into her own grave.
"He isn't." Tsubaki shook her head. "He's unaffiliated with any Familia or Orario. His deity isn't in the city."
Drake narrowed his eyes seeing how carefully but surely Tsubaki was answering for him knowing that unlike the Half-Elf in front of them, the werewolf was a far more experienced Guild Member.
One who knew how to properly dig information.
"And the relationship between him and your Familia is…?"
"A third party. He runs jobs for me and sometimes the rest of the Hephaestus Familia to gather items from the Dungeon."
Rose raised an eyebrow at the answer and then eyed the blonde from top to bottom. "He looks more like an Adventurer than a Gatherer."
"At least you didn't say supporter." Drake said with a neutral voice, taking this chance to speak as well. "I am not an Adventurer seeing as I am not registered. But also, I do not report to the Guild or use any of its services, and there isn't a law that states that you must do so in order to enter the Dungeon."
That was the truth. He never used any of the guild's exclusive services like exchanging stones, Tsubaki did that for him.
Rose nodded. "That's correct. Even unblessed individuals may enter under their own risk. However," she looked at Tsubaki. "I think Ms. Collbrande already addressed you had one. A Falna I mean."
The werewolf sighed as she closed her eyes and lowered her gaze. "In that case," she stared at both, a serious and sharp look of professionalism put in place. "Would you like to file a complaint?" her hand gestured at one Eina Tulle as the question left her mouth, leaving the Half-Elf looking at her in shock.
"But I-" Eina shut herself up the moment Rose's cold gaze landed on her, a clear unspoken message sent to her.
'You reap what you sow.'
Drake Aurion eyed Tsubaki, since her Familia was being the one affiliated to the Guild and the accusation was done to her in the first place, she had the last word regarding the complaint.
"What do you say?" she looked at him. "You are the one who seems to have a beef with every elf."
Or she could just pass the choice to him and decide the girl's face.
At the very least, Eina wasn't complaining any more. Instead, she was frozen in place thinking of all the repercussions that were gonna fall on her for receiving a complaint from one of Orario's top four Familias.
"Say," he looked at Rose. "Is she gonna learn how to be subtle? Because I seem to recall her saying I was gonna die in the Dungeon because I said I didn't need a Guild Advisor."
Had Eina Tulle being able to literally crumble into pieces, she would have, seeing as she had completely forgotten about that,
"Believe me," Rose eyed her once again, and then back at him. "I am pretty sure this will serve as a hard experience."
Drake snorted. "Somehow, I doubt that." He shook his head, as an indication that the whole subject should be dropped, and he could carry on.
The Half-Elf sighed in relief, and unknown to her, so did her superior internally.
"Seeing as this is now water under the bridge, what are all of you doing here so early in the morning?" The Captain addressed Shakti and her Familia. "Dungeon stuff?"
Shakti stared blankly at her.
'As plain as ever.' Shakti shook off the thought. "Not the term I would use, but yes. Tremors started to be felt in the lower part of the Deep Floors a little a few days ago. After a day, those very same tremors continued with more intensity than before in the upper floors."
"There's a monster causing them, and it's going up in the Dungeon."
Shakti nodded, a little impressed the blonde managed to figure it out so quickly.
"And yesterday, we received reports of a giant serpent-like Monster moving through the floors. We were able to catch a glimpse of it in the darkness and push it back."
Tsubaki raised an eyebrow.
"Darkness? I don't recall the deep floors being that dark?"
Shakti nodded.
"You would be right. And the initial report also stated that the surroundings around the monster were also barely visible." Rose looked at the entrance of the Dungeon. "First the whole thing that happened a little over a month ago, and now an unknown monster. Things are certainly changing, and not for the better"
None of them were looking at Drake and Tsubaki eyeing each other at Rose's words.
"I'll keep an eye open." Drake thought out loud as he headed into the Dungeon, only to be stopped by Rose's words.
"If possible, try to avoid it. We have already asked for the help of the Loki Familia, they are already in the Dungeon."
To her surprise, he sighed heavily. "That explains the dog jokes." He turned back. "Bete Loga is part of that group, or am I wrong?"
The Guild member nodded a little confused, and even more as Drake stared at Tsubaki, who was giving him a look that was unreadable for anyone that wasn't the former Noble.
"The best promise I can make is that I will not throw the first punch-"
"Or the first anything, I think you meant." Tsubaki interrupted him, already knowing how he did things.
"Or the first anything. That's all I can do."
They stared at each other for a moment before Tsubaki sighed in defeat and nodded before he disappeared into the Dungeon.
"He may not be an Adventurer, but he's still as arrogant as one." Shakti stated, comparing him with a newbie that could take over the world on his own. "Although you seemed rather sure of his abilities, seeing as you think he could beat Vanargand."
Tsubaki snorted.
"First, on the contrary. He's not seeking any kind of Adventure, riches, fame, and he definitely doesn't want to prove himself to any deity unlike many people we could name." everyone but her sweat dropped as they noticed her subtly looking at the top of the tower of babel. "Also, I can assure you. I don't think he could beat Bete," she turned around and started to walk away. "I know for certain he can."
Rose sighed. "I do recall him studying the Guild's records regarding the documented floors of the Dungeon. So I can vouch he is at least taking his work seriously, and I also do recall him saying the same thing as Collbrande statement… I just realized I still haven't gotten his name."
Shakti shrugged. "Well, he at least seems like the serious type… kind of reminds me of someone."
The Guild member looked curiously at the lance user. It wasn't common to hear the ever stoic captain talking about something that wasn't work related.
"Similar presence, stoic and serious demeanor, even his clothes seem awfully similar." Shakti shook the idea off. "Anyway, My Familia and I need to report back to Lord Ganesha, please do keep me in the loop if you hear something."
"Will do." Rose and Eina gave a formal bow. "Thank you all for your hard work."
Shakti nodded and then headed her way along the rest of her Familia.
"… I still think he should at least be a little less arrogant."
Rose sighed tiredly, no longer able to hold her professional demeanor in place as her hand moved to Eina's arm.
"And even if he's unaffiliated, he should at least be in the Guild's reco- Ouch!" The Half-Elf jumped in surprise at her superior's action of pinching her hand, hard.
"I find it amazing you still have the energy to continue with that after nearly metaphorically burying yourself seven feet under." Rose continued with her previous action as they walked away, pretty much dragging Eina by the arm.
"I-! I Was just trying to do my job. Ouch!"
"There's doing your job, and there's being professional and prudent while doing your job. You are lucky neither of them decided to report, and even more that I decided to stop you before you said something that would doom you even more."
Eina Tulle didn't have any words to say, seeing as there was no counter for Rose's arguments. But still-
"Could you at least stop pulling me and pinching me at the same time?"
"Nope. Just because you managed to avoid being scolded by Royman for a filed complaint, doesn't mean I will let this slip." She continued pulling, trying her best to ignore the Elf's moans. "Just be grateful I respect you enough to not pull you by the ears."
And so, the moans continued through as the sun started to rise.
*Knock Knock Knock*
Raul Nord.
*Knock Knock Knock*
Level Four.
*Knock Knock Knock*
One of the oldest members of his Familia. Certainly not the most known, strongest , wise or anything positive at all.
*Knock Knock Knock*
What was completely certain was…
"Yes?"
He was way too tired to deal with his Familia's bullshit.
"I am sorry." The owner of the inn they were currently staying at in Rivira gave a slight bow. "But could you please do something about your… friend."
The man was clearly unsure of how to address the werewolf, seeing as in his current mood only a masochist would associate himself with someone like Bete.
"I take it I was the only one awake, huh?"
The owner nodded reluctantly. He had tried the amazon sisters, but apparently they were too wasted to answer.
'Not that I can't blame them.' Raul walked out of his room, a frown on his face as he recalled the events that led him to this.
A petition from his captain to tag along as a support on an ongoing investigation sanctioned by the Guild. How could he say no seeing as it was a petition that came directly from his captain?
Of course, the fact that no one else wanted to volunteer wasn't important at all.
And so, he and the others dived into the Dungeon… and as it was to be expected, it didn't take long for things to go off the rails because Bete charged at the Goliath. Now, three Level Fives were more than enough to deal with it, so no big problem there. But charging in the same manner against the Amphisbaena was a different story.
Tiona didn't have a problem with Bete's initial suggestion seeing it would be 'fun'. Tione on the other hand gave a little more thought to it and decided to oblige seeing they wouldn't have to deal with it in the following day when they started their investigation.
On the plus side, it dropped its heart. On the other one, he almost died several times. But that wasn't anything new. Things almost escalated between the werewolf and the other amazons, the former wanting to keep going and most likely face Udeaus himself if he had to; all just to vent his anger at something.
Luckily, the Amazon sisters were able to drag him back to Rivira in the most literal of senses after knocking him out.
And here he was now, turning a corner to enter the bar of the inn. Several patrons knocked out on the floor, some by drinking, while some for a clear physical knock out courtesy of the silver haired Adventurer drinking down what was probably his tenth bottle of alcohol.
'That's just gonna make his headache worse.' Raul sighed as he made a mental prayer to any merciful deity that was not Loki, because she would certainly find at least a little amusement of his current predicament.
By his next update, Raul's endurance would go uo by twenty points.
There were times Drake really appreciated he had some sort of contact with his brothers, even if they weren't technically the real deal.
But sometimes, not so much.
'I am just saying, what's up with the women of this world?'
Drake internally groaned at Zelos comments, which the redhead ignored.
'We have; cat girls that actually say fucking 'nya~'.'
Drake sidestepped to the side to avoid the mace of a barbarian. "You do know it's actually a tick, right? Chloe just does it to look cute." His current blade went through the monster's stomach and quickly slashed to the side, leaving the monster on its knees to be decapitated as Zelos ignored him.
'Elves! The race we have made jokes about for so long and what do you know, they are actually lewd. '
"And annoying." He thought out loud as he quickly used the shield of a Lizardman Elite to jump back in the air.
'Still hot though. Then there are amazons, to which I can just say-'
"Gonna need you to hold that thought for a second, Z." Drake shifted his position in the air. "[Rising Falcon]" he dived down with his blade towards the enemy with enough force to pierce through the Lizardman's head and slam it into the ground.
"Carry on."
'Where the hell were these nymphos when I was younger. A race that only lives for eating, fighting, and getting laid? Come on!'
A collected set of groans were heard in his head.
'Correct me if I am not mistaken, but aren't you supposed to be and I quote a 'former scumbag'?' Lloyd asked as Drake eyed his surroundings to notice he was getting quickly surrounded.
'I am. Never will I ever ogle, desire, touch or fantasize another woman that isn't Rita.' Zelos replied in such a regal way that anybody that didn't know him would believe his words.
Drake retrieved his blade from the monster's head before it disintegrated. He then rolled over and quickly stood with his knees slightly bent before he rushed at three Lizardmen.
'What the actual fuck do you call the last two minutes then?' Yuri asked, a tone of sarcasm clear as day. "[Ghost Wolf]" he slashed the front of the shield of the monster in the middle and quickly phased through it to then deliver a wide horizontal slash that cut through the three monster's hips.
"He's trying to play wing man for me." He quickly moved his arm back and delivered a fierce [Palm Strike] at the severed upper part of the Lizardmen's body to send it flying at the front of the incoming group of monsters to break their formation by staggering those that were in the front.
'How the hell does all that ogling relate to this?' Luke asked, sounding honestly confused.
"By making me realize that I have yet to meet a single mortal that isn't, and I am just quoting him, 'hot'." He waved his blade two times to send two blue fang-like projectiles to the ground and gathered a little more of Aura for the third one, "[Demonic Chaos!]"
Unlike the previous two projectiles, the last one was twice the size of the previous one and black colored, instead. Big enough to cover the whole line of monsters as the first two blue ones dealt with the monsters of the front, leaving the last line of them to be wiped out by the third one.
"And also, reminding me of the fact that there's a red district full of amazons more than willingly to get laid." He looked around and noticed that no more monsters were spawning from the walls on the floor. "Come on you bitch, that can't be all you have." He opened his arms wide to address the Dungeon, no reaction whatsoever.
'Dwarven Bow #108, Drake; Let sleeping dogs lie.' Lloyd mentioned, to which the blonde sighed and agreed to not wanting to call for a situation like another abnormal Goliath.
'Anyway, back to the topic at hand.' Everyone groaned again, Drake included as he ran his hand through his face. 'You don't have to go full easy mode if you want to. You already got plenty to choose just by being you… surprisingly.'
The blonde did his best to ignore him as he made a swift motion with his hand to make all crystals and drop items sink into the shadows.
'There are at least two waitresses that are interested in you, not counting Syr of course.'
Drake snorted. "At least your radar which detects dangerous women still works."
'There's also Rose, I mean she's mostly your type.'
Drake stopped in his tracks as he narrowed his eyes in mild confusion. "Only because she has a descent front doesn't mean I have a fucking type."
'What about the Half-Elf?' There was a moment of silence after Luke's question, Drake already figured out they were looking at him weirdly for offering feedback in such a conversation.
'What? If we are forced to hear this shit, I want to make my opinion count at least?'
There were several hums of agreement, which made Drake's eye twitch in annoyment.
"This is not a fucking shipping war." He muttered in a blank tone as they easily ignored him.
'Not his type. She's a nice girl despite acting all professional.' Guy mentioned, making Drake curse at the mention of a type again.
'It would be easy though, and she's got a nice figure.'
Drake facepalmed, wondering in what moment his head became something similar to an internet forum.
'Which exactly is his type anyway?' Luke asked, to which Drake snorted.
"This I gotta hear."
'Strong in most sense of the word, kind of a hard-ass, defiant, a mean or serious look that makes a man be easily intimidated. And just as an extra, short haired no longer than the shoulder.'
Drake just stared into the void of the Dungeon as he heard his best friend's reasoning. It almost made it sound like he himself had more of a fetich and not a type.
"I am gonna fucking murder y-"
'Seems about right.'
'Yup.'
'huh'
And the voices of agreement continued, making him rethink his current line of thought. "-Every single one of you."
'… You just described Velvet sans the short hair.' Drake froze at Lloyd's thought, making a drop of sweat run through his forge.
'What about Hephaestus?' Zelos quickly threw a fast ball in a nonchalantly manner, even though he also was in a similar state as his best friend seeing Lloyd took the topic to an unexpected turn.
"What about Hephaestus?" Drake appreciated the change of person of interest, but not to the Goddess of the forge for the simple fact she was a deity.
'You know where I am going. She's not bad looking at all, and those hips are just criminal.'
'And honestly, out of everyone you have met so far, she's probably the most levelheaded.' Yuri commented, deciding to put his two coins into the topic. 'Although that werewolf also fits the bill.'
"I am sorry, are you assholes trying to play wingman, or getting me a girlfriend?"
A collective 'YES.' was heard.
'What about Tsubaki?' Lloyd mentioned, which earned him a set of odd looks. Even Drake was making a face that could be described as unreadable.
'Nope. Better leave the state of 'Friends' as just 'Friends'.' Zelos said wisely, and sadly, he agreed.
'The fuck are you on about?' Luke questioned. 'I am pretty much compromised to a friend, so is Flynn and even you.'
'Correction; childhood friends. There's enough trust. Hardships and experience to back up a relationship with solid foundations.'
Flynn sighed. 'I didn't want to get into this, but Zelos's right… it feels so weird to say that.'
"I am with you in that one." Drake muttered and let Zelos say his logic.
'Tsubaki has done a lot for this asshole, but just starting something out of just that is wrong, and in the long term even lacking. Besides, they have only been friends for a month, that's just rushing things.'
'… why the hell does he have to make sense when it comes to women?'
Everyone ignored the question, there was no clear answer to it.
'Still though, you are right in that she's helped a lot.' Drake could feel his brother making a glare. 'And this asshole has only been breaking her weapons and not really helping her with recreating his reinforced clothes.'
Drake sighed, Lloyd's bias as a blacksmith were showing.
"Do you really want me to fucking risk me blessing her if I unlocked her Aura?"
'No. But you could at least give her something to work with.'
"She said it herself, she wants to strive on her own."
'She's just being prideful, something all of us have experienced until we are forced to receive a helping hand.'
Everyone grimaced, seeing as they were witnessing a famous Aurion Brothers argument.
'Oh shit, here we go again.'
And so the discussion went on for a few minutes.
'Tell you what? Udaeus is just around the corner. Why not give it a try and see if he drops something worth it.'
"Are you really telling me to risk causing another incident in the Dungeon because you are pissed at me breaking blade after blade?"
'Again!'
Despite Lloyd's weapon being extremely unique, it didn't save them from the fact that Drake Aurion could be a little too much sometimes. And although he didn't break as much as he did with Tsubaki's sword, it was still something that would anger every blacksmith.
'If the reports about it are right, Udaeus has the crystal right in front of the chest to be for all to see. Just crush the damn thing from the get go.'
'I hope you realize you just jinxed that possibility.' Yuri commented amused as it seemed Drake actually contemplated the idea, but then discarded it.
'Besides, as you might have noticed; someone decided to be a little extra and went to kill both the Goliath and the Amphisbaena. So that only leaves Grim for Monster Rexes available.'
The argument continued, with both of them not reaching a common ground. Not noticing that the ground below Drake started to crumble.
'uuum… guys.' Flynn tried to intervene in between their argument, but none of them paid any attention.
'She's done so much for you. The least you could fucking do it's do this one for her.'
"Had she actually needed it, she would have asked me too!"
'Because someone looking after you is never gonna ask you to put yourself in danger to get something out of you.'
Cracks started to become more noticeable, but Drake didn't seem to notice it.
'For fucks sake, HEY!' Zelos snapped at both of them, which caused both to react back at him.
"What!?/What!?"
The ground behind the blonde broke apart to reveal a barbarian emerging from it with its club already going down at Drake, who quickly made a motion with his blade and quickly turned around the monster and cut it diagonally in two. However, he had been so close to it that its blood managed to spill all over him before it disappeared.
Nobody said anything, as Drake simply stared at the ground directly at the monster's drop.
'… oh look, a horn.' Lloyd said nervously seeing as their argument had been so heated that Drake didn't notice the signs or warnings given to him.
"From now on, no more backseat driving in my mind while in the Dungeon." He turned around after securing the items into the shadows. "And that includes my nonexistent love life."
There were a series of whines that Drake ignored as he headed back to floor eighteen, he needed a bath.
"What?" Bors smirked at the visage of the bloodied person in front of him. "Got the happy end of a minotaur?"
"A barbarian's, actually." The blonde replied in his usual bland tone, but Bors could tell he was in a sour mood.
"How the hell did one manage to get so close to you?" the older Adventurer asked, knowing full well the monster must have been closer than a feet away to get its blood on him .
"Was focused on dealing with the voices in my head." The lack of the clear tone of sarcasm made the Level Three know he wasn't kidding.
"That ain't healthy." He deadpanned, which Drake equally returned.
"No shit." He sighed. "Any place where I can take a bath, not feeling like paying full price for an inn if I don't plan to remain here the whole day."
Bors forced a sardonic smile on his face. "Oi, oi. You are rich, stop being so stingy about it." The only response he got from Drake was a blank stare.
"There's a lake over there. Many people use it to take a quick break before heading out, although rarely anyone uses it at this hour, so it will serve you."
Drake nodded and started walking again, only to stop after giving a heavy sigh.
"Say, Bors."
The Adventurer raised an eyebrow.
"The Guild's records don't mention anything about this," Drake turned around, a serious gaze in his face that gave the Adventurer a bad feeling. "But do you know if Udaeus drops something?"
Bors paled knowing his suspicions became a reality.
It wasn't that Bors had anything against Drake. But he knew things got weird every time the blonde decided to dive into the Dungeon. Leaving the incident with the Goliath aside, there's been reports about monsters acting more frantically when he was in the Dungeon. Luckily, it looked like the spawns only focused solemnly on him, as if he was a deity.
Honestly, the only reason he discarded the idea was because no deity in their sane judgment would do what he did, nor would they have the guts to do it. To be frank, they could be all the divine they wanted, that didn't matter here.
So, there was no way Drake Aurion was a deity in his eyes.
"I don't have to remind you of the Goliath incident, right?"
"I remember it clear as day." He assured him. "But Udaeus is various floors down, so nothing bad will happen to Rivira in the long run. Besides, you know I can always go a little beyond."
Bors gave him a bland look and remained silent before shaking his head slowly. Drake in exchange simply sighed as he went for something inside his jacket's inner pockets and took out a small bag of Valis.
The eye of the Adventurer twitched before he shook his head again. So Drake made it look like he put the small bag in the jacket and then pulled and even bigger from the shadows.
"… Still no."
The blonde rolled his eyes. "I am not willing to raise my price more if you are just being greedy now."
Bors groaned before rubbing the back of his head. "… fine."
The blonde handed over the bag before Bors told him to get closer.
"This is just a rumor. But some years ago, a party of three decided to try their luck with Udaeus, even boasting about it."
'Human stupidity at its finest.' Zelos muttered, to which Drake agreed.
"A search party was formed to stop them, their deity didn't want them doing something that stupid. But when they arrived at Udaeus's zone in the Thirty-Seventh Floor, there was nothing . All the search party could find were the remains of the Adventurers, and marks around the walls of the zone slashed by something similar to a massive sword."
Drake narrowed his eyes. "The Guild's records states nothing about Udaeus having a sword,"
Bors snapped his fingers. "Exactly, and yet none of the members of the dead party could do that kind of damage to the floor."
Drake checked Bors words, not a single lie in his words. But still, what could have been so special about that group for the Monster Rex to pull something that no one has seen before.
'A little reminder,' Luke started. 'We are living in a fantasy world, so it would be normal for stuff like conditions to apply to certain things inside of a Dungeon to be a reality.'
'If we are running on tropes, sure.' Drake thought the whole thing was just plain stupid if things actually worked out like that. 'But what would be the condition then?'
'… ask him about the usual strategy to beat Udaeus.' Jude said, to which Drake had no problem in doing.
"The usual strategy?" Bors asked. "Starting from the fact that a group of more than ten Second Rank Adventurer's is a minimum, there's nothing I can tell you."
Drake sighed.
"Gonna have to give it some thought. Not worth making the Dungeon like an actual bitch again if I don't get anything worth from it." Bors mentally sighed in relief, even though he still found his way of addressing the Dungeon in such a way weird.
"If you decide to do it, at least have the decency to warn me… so I can be mentally prepared."
He snorted. "Sure thi-"
"YOU!"
Drake forced himself not to facepalm at the sound of a voice he hadn't heard in a while. "Fuck my life!" he turned around to see a familiar silver haired werewolf. "Hey mutt."
To Bete Loga's defense, he at least didn't immediately charge at Drake.
"What the fuck are you doing here!?"
The Former Noble shrugged. "Looking for a bath." He gestured to himself, monster blood still on him.
It was then that he noticed the rest of Bete's group, which he recognized most of. The two amazons; the younger one snickering about his remark, while the other one scowling at him from the incident in the Hostess for sure.
And then there was the most common looking Adventurer he had ever met. It kind of reminded him of Jaune Arc just by how plain looking he was and having pretty recent bruises on his cheek didn't help at all.
"Don't you fucking dare to be funny with me! What's a nobody like you doing inside the Dungeon!?"
Many Adventurer's that were passing by either stopped or walked away at the sight of Level Five that was better known for his anger issues. Either way it would certainly be more troublesome for him in the long run as more rumors would start from this. And all because of a mutt with issues, great.
"For Origin's sake, you're so fucking annoying." Drake thought out loud, already figuring out his response would trigger the werewolf to do something, and he did.
"The fuck did you just say to me!?" And right on cue, Bete Loga didn't waste his time charging at him and grabbing him by the jacket's collar.
"Hey, Bors." Drake didn't pay any attention to the raging werewolf and instead eyed Bors. "I promised a certain someone I wouldn't throw the first anything against this lot, does it look like I fulfilled my end of the bargain?"
The Adventurer already had an idea Cyclops had asked him that specifically. "I would still appreciate it if you didn't start anything here."
"I am gonna take that as a yes then." Sparks started to surge from his fingertips. "Say Bete… how's your head?"
The Level Five gritted his teeth as he prepared to punch the blonde while Drake swiftly moved his fingers to the side of his head, only for both of them to do nothing as the older amazon grabbed his companion's hand with enough strength to almost break it before anything could be done.
"I am getting really tired of your bullshit, Bete." The amazon then grabbed the back of his head and forced him on the ground, making the werewolf release his hold on Drake and form a hole on the ground where he laid.
"And you?" Her glare landed on the Former Noble. "How the hell do you know about that? Did you actually do something to him that night?"
He shrugged. "How the hell is he falling on his own ass and hitting his head hard, my fault?"
"Don't you fucking dare to be funny with me." She grabbed him in the same way Beta had done before, but with lesser strength, indicating she was restraining herself.
"Ganesha Familia." he said, making the pissed amazon raise an eyebrow. "I met with members of Ganesha Familia and the Guild earlier in the morning. They were complaining about your mutt's attitude and his severe headache."
Tione Hirute recalled yesterday's event and Bete's behavior towards other Adventurers, it seemed to check with what the blonde was saying. "You are lucky our captain gave us the order to stay away from you, otherwise you would be answering for the disrespect you committed the last time."
He rolled his eyes already knowing which disrespect she meant. Insulting and disregarding Finn Deinme as if he was nothing.
"You really belong in the same Familia, because I can't decide what's more hilarious-" he grabbed her wrist and applied enough force to make her lose his hold on him. "The fact that you think you can actually do something, or that the brat told you to stay away from me." Tione started to struggle; she couldn't get free of his grip despite no longer holding back her strength. But the thing that freaked out the most, was how cold his hands were, it felt so unnatural that it actually sent chills through her back. "What a bunch of clowns."
Even if Drake stated something like that, he wasn't laughing. He didn't even look angry or mad. If anything, the look he was giving her made it look that in his eyes they were nothing.
"Hmm…" he hummed and let her go. The Amazon stepped back and rubbed her now free wrist, a clear bruised mark around it. "Thank you for your time, Bors." He turned around and started to walk away. "I will tell you later if I decide to pull that stunt."
The Adventurer nodded with a clear groan and then walked away as well, being smart enough to not stay to the sequel of what just happened.
"You~ Screwed~ uuuup~" Tione groaned and turned around at her smug looking sister. "Captain said to stay away from him, and the first thing you do is address him." The older amazon twitched. "And you even told him about it."
Tiona Hyrute started to clap slowly as she turned around and headed her way, soon followed by Raul and her sister, who was now dragging an unconscious Bete by the leg.
"Please, don't tell me you are here to bitch about going after Udaeus again." Drake said with a sigh as he sat around the round table inside his mindscape.
Meanwhile, his real body was submerged into the lake taking a well-deserved bath while he rested inside his mindscape. He wasn't worried about drowning, seeing his Aura training did wonders for his lungs. And in the worst-case scenario, he was just gonna be pulled back into reality.
"Yes." Lloyd commented as he moved his chair close to his brother's. "Although I am taking a more serious approach instead of basing it around your love life."
Drake flipped him off.
"Tsubaki it's a great blacksmith… unfortunately, what this world has to offer can only take her so far." Lloyd theorized. "She's never gonna be able to forge something that can keep up with you, and that means you are never gonna be able to fight at your max potential."
Drake sighed, because Lloyd was right. The Aura input one put in their body, it was the same as the one the weapon currently held received, which meant Drake would always restrain himself unless he had a weapon that could really keep up with him.
And even though he was good with his hands, he excelled best with weapons.
"So that's what this is really about, you are worried about me."
Lloyd snorted. "I always worry about you, everyday…" he patted Drake's shoulder. "On that note, please get a girlfriend." The older Aurion quickly moved his free hand to intercept a punch going straight for his face.
"Going back to the topic in hand," Lloyd ignored his brother's annoyed look. "Even if you don't open her Aura, there's still a few things you could help her with besides gathering materials."
Drake frowned. "I know, and it's eating me. She's talented, and I am worried she might end up forging something that's a little too much for everyone."
Lloyd laid back on his chair, his brother's reasons reaching to him. "You are worried that something she might end up forging with newfound knowledge might fall in the wrong hands."
The blonde nodded, this ended up in making him lay back as well before both of them sighed.
"She's your only friend right now… and we both know that any good bond is worth every struggle. You are gonna have to confront her eventually."
"I hope you realize that even if I teach her something like engraving angelic runes, if the damn metal doesn't have Aura it isn't going to work."
Lloyd shrugged. "Let her figure out that part herself. Besides, even if she does manage to do something with that knowledge, only you will be able to use them thanks to your Aura."
Drake let his back slide down the back of his chair in resignation and acceptance. "I fucking hate doing actual socializing."
Lloyd laughed it off. "Spoken like a true introvert." He snapped his fingers, a tower set of multiple pieces appeared on the corner of the table. "Now, have a match with me. Been feeling bored while the rest stormed off."
"Sure thing… wait a fucking second." Drake exclaimed as he sat properly and stared at an organized jenga tower. "How in the fuck-"
"This is your mind, dumbass." Both turned around to see Zelos, moving his chair close to them to take part in their little game. "You were able to recreate us by soul, personality, and memory in here. It's only natural that more basic objects are easy to recreate."
Drake let his best friend's words sink and ponder about it, his eyes narrowed as he snapped his fingers.
"I fucking told you he would think of that when we told him." Lloyd deadpanned as Drake took with his hands a red cylindrical metal container with a ring on top of it.
*tssSSS kr-POP*
He opened the can and let the nostalgic sound of the gas hit him before he took a drink.
"You do know that is bad for you, right?"
He flipped off both of them as he drank it one go.
"I really thought I would never be able to drink this again." His eyes were so watered that both Lloyd and Zelos thought he would actually shed a tear for this.
"The fuck are the two of you staring at, take the first turn already." Drake replied as he made another red can appear.
"Good work dumbass, you reactivated his addiction." Lloyd gestured to Zelos as he moved the first piece.
"By the way, where are the others?"
Zelos snorted as prepared his move. "Let's just say we have found a way to entertain ourselves with that little trick. Just don't be surprised if you hear the sound of a bike or someone hitting a punching bag when you sleep."
The realization sunk into the blonde. "I guess that explains why I have been listening to Eurobeat when I try to sleep."
Small tremors could be heard on floor Thirty-Eighth.
Several groups of monsters were sent flying one by one, but they still persisted in their futile attempt as a giant snake-like creature went through the floor destroying everything in its path.
Another tremor continued, but unlike last time, the unknown monster wasn't responsible. Instead the Dungeon itself acted by spawning more hordes of Monsters to subjugate the unruly monster.
The serpent roared as its eyes glowed brownish-orange, several glyphs of the same color were generated. Various pillars of stones materialized from the glyphs, impaling and tearing the monsters, leaving nothing but crystals and the surroundings filled with blood as the monster roared. Only to suddenly stop as it caught the sound of four individuals reaching its current floor, not knowing that its latest stunt wouldn't be unnoticed.
The blonde's eyes snapped open as he stood up in the lake, looking at the ceiling or rather at nothing in particular as after feeling a sense of déjà vu running down his back. It had been so strong that it even managed to pull him out of his mindscape.
'What the fuck was that?' Drake thought as he closed his eyes to think.
'Whatever it was, it was enough to get all of our attention.' Yuri commented.
'Tell me about it, don't know why but it felt extremely familiar… jenga! by the way.' Zelos's remark made the blonde internally scowl.
'Whatever it was, it seemed to be something temporary. So, it might happen again, be on your guard in case something happens.' Drake nodded at Guy's warning.
'Hmm… Drake.' Jude started, his voice a little nervous. 'You might want to look to the side.'
The blonde narrowed his eyes. Jude's lack of vision and his wolf ears made him the guardian with the best hearing, so there was no reason to doubt him.
However, he didn't expect to cross eye with a familiar figure.
LINREBREAK
Ryuu Lyon avoided the gazes of all the Adventurers in Riviria.
All of them were busy with their own stuff. Some of them were preparing for some more Dungeon diving, those who lived on the floor preparing for another day of job, and then there were those that were letting themselves be submerged into carnal desires.
Like Bors, who she recognized inside a bar she walked past by, was giving himself a feast so early in the morning with a bag of Valis big enough to last him for at least three more days.
How had he managed to get so much? She didn't know nor really care at the moment.
Because it was already that time of the month.
Every month she would come to the Dungeon to pay respect to her fellow Familia members, seeing as she was pretty much all that was left of the Astrea Familia.
She was thankful to everyone in the Hostess that had let her do her selfish request. Well, almost all of them.
The simple thought of him made her scowl a little.
Drake Aurion.
Leaving aside the fact that he behaved awfully towards Syr… there was just something about his eyes that bothered her. She couldn't help but look at herself whenever he had a distant look. As if he of all people could understand her even better than Syr or herself.
But what did that say about him? He was definitely no saint and he even accepted it if Chloe's gossips about her day with him were something to believe.
That's why she couldn't help but be wary of him seeing how possibly alike they were. Was she being a hypocrite? Yes, she recognized that. Even though she wasn't as defensive towards him as before, seeing as the staff had warmed up to him and vice versa. Except with her, and of course Syr.
In all honesty, it looked like he was more suspicious of her friend rather than the elf herself. The thought of it gave her a little laugh, but despite that he hadn't done any kind of physical damage to the girl.
'Her pride as a woman is in shambles though.' She thought about the only positive aspect being that he really wasn't attracted to Syr at all, so she wouldn't have to worry about the girl's crush… until the next big crush appeared.
Another positive point about the blonde was that he had been a huge help to the Hostess, something she couldn't deny as he even dealt with unwanted patrons for them.
Unfortunately, it was his secondary job, not his first priority. Which is why she had headed out of the Hostess in a rush to make her monthly visit to her Familia grave quickly and then be able to head back in time before the first rush hour started. However, she thought that she had more than a little time to take a little detour seeing as she rushed a little too fast heading down into the Dungeon.
In other words, she needed a bath.
Not because of explicit necessity, but because it would be a great disrespect due to her Elven custom regarding the state of purity one must have when paying respect to those who passed away.
And so, she headed towards the most secluded part of the lake, only to notice someone else was already there,as there was a set of well folded clothes near the edge of it.
But no one was inside the water. Until she noticed a small set of bubbles popping off in the near distance.
'They are underwater.' She theorized.
Ryuu sighed seeing she would have to return later, she turned around to visit her friends' graves. But her eyes caught the clothes lying close to her and narrowed them at the somehow familiar clothes.
In the end, her habit of being cautious with things thanks to her work in the Hostess forced her to move the clothes a little away seeing somebody other than her might come and easily take them away. So, thinking about staying until they came up and telling them was the best thing to do.
'It wasn't like they could last very long underwater.' She thought as she moved to pick up the clothes and noticed the initials 'DMAY' engraved on one of the ends of the white scarfs, and it was in that moment that she froze in realization as to why those clothes looked so familiar.
"I need to get out of here." The elf thought out loud in panic, her previous idea discarded as she prepared to run away… but it was already too late. The sound of splashing made her head turn and look into the direction of the lake out of instinct.
Her eyes widened in terror, but it seemed like he hadn't notice her standing there and instead was looking into the long distance for some reason. This meant it was the perfect chance to run away, but her legs didn't move while her eyes did.
His body was a testimony to clear training and arduous work; toned and subtle muscles earned through a hard psychical regime, yet a muscular enough frame to betray his experience in combat.
But the thing that got her attention the most; were his scars.
She and everyone in the Hostess were familiar with the scar on his neck whenever he removed his scarf.
But the rest of them were just new to them.
There were several scars on his arms, some of them even seemed like the whole limb had been completely cut off, and yet they had been reattached. She eyed his right arm, his armband still remained despite the fact he lacked every other item of clothing, she could only imagine the type of wound he was hiding if he felt the need or urge to cover it even now.
There was also a very notorious scar over his left shoulder that went down a couple of inches, indicating that someone almost managed to completely cripple him on the left side of his body.
There were a lot of small cuts on his back and chest, even some sort of circular wounds which seemed like they went through his body. But the wounds that got her attention the most, were three long blade ones; a red vibrant colored one on the front that went from his left shoulder to the right side of his hip, and the other two on his back in a cross fashion each of a different color as well; this time being black and blue.
The most notorious things about them were that they seemed to be glowing as remnants of some sort of powerful attack.
'Just who or what could possibly inflict those wounds?' The Elf thought as her eyes continued to move down, finally realizing where her eyes were headed, and that the blonde in front of her was now looking at her with an expression she was way too familiar with for her liking.
His head was slightly tilted to the side, and his eyes gave a message of emptiness; as if the person looking at them couldn't help but feel themselves as the most disgusting scum on the face of the planet. And the reason as to why that look felt so familiar, was because she had given that very same stare to any patron who had dared to touch her or ogle her out loud.
'The only thing missing was saying something that could make me feel completely degraded.'
"Pervert." Drake Aurion finally addressed her as he pointed at her.
'… Yeah, just like that.' Thosewere Ryuu's thoughts as her skin became completely pale, her jaw slightly dropped as she realized something. 'Alise, Kaguya, Lyra… everyone. You are laughing at me right now, aren't you?'