"'ere you go! " The dwarf collected the almost-unconscious Killer Ant with his maul and threw it up.
A couple of arrows were lodged into the main body while an axe and rapier were able to cut and pierce its hard shell, weakening and hitting its critical spot, shattering the Magic Stone and turning the monster to dust.
"Not bad, but you could use some more practice." Thom praised the efforts made by the adventurers of Skadi Familia who worked together to eliminate such a foe.
"Heh, thank you Mister Greymantle." Alain bowed his head. "I'll keep that advice in mind."
"Please lad, up in the surface you can call me by my name but down here it's Molten Maul." The short warrior corrected the duelist.
Heimdall Familia, part adventurer and part entrepreneur. Their home base was located not too far from the tower in one of the side streets from the Main, a small tavern that is often visited by adventurers and other patrons who do not have a lot of money to their name as well as a residence connected to the tavern itself albeit not accessible to the public.
The Golden Horn is what Heimdall called it, in honor to great artifact he carries with him and the symbol of his Familia.
Unlike Skadi's, this Familia is slightly bigger with around twenty members ranging from Levels 1 to 2 with just a couple exceptions: The Captain and the Vice Captain.
However, this was far from flawless for one simple rule they had: If you are not in the Dungeon then you are working!
Naturally this brought a big problem because not everyone wanted to serve patrons, brew drinks or clean the tavern so it was a constant struggle as to who would go down there. It was rare for The Golden Horn to be closed during the day and the only exceptions would be when they had to do an expedition or a special request from the Guild itself.
So how does one manage a Familia like this? To this day, Heimdall does not know the answer.
Their patron deity spends most of his time in the tavern when there's a lack of personnel and truthfully he doesn't mind interacting with the clients. But if there's enough people to keep the business going then he often does a little escapade around the city, exploring the different businesses which would often culminate in visiting his reclusive friend in Fimbulvetr.
But behind that easygoing life he had, he would still have to manage the tavern and of course be mindful of other taverns and inns in Orario. Acceptable didn't cut it but striving for excellence meant demanding more of his children who were already not too happy of this work.
Still, the Valis kept flowing and at the end of the day that's what mattered.
And yet, Heimdall had a side-business amidst all this.
Everyone had their tools of the trade, a blacksmith would have a hammer and an anvil, an adventurer a sword, bow or even use magic but for a tavern keeper? Information was their tool, perhaps even their most valuable weapon.
Receiving many patrons every day meant hearing plenty of stories from all around Orario and usually it meant things like juicy rumors or information that was not meant to be disclosed to the public or your local barkeep.
This allowed him to have the upper hand on important details or a very opportune discount at any cake shop.
This also came at a cost, building a network of information was not an easy task, neither was a cheap one but it is what kept the Guild in the know about certain threats or irregularities that may happen in the darkest corners of Orario.
While their God was dealing in information, the kids would deal with the creatures that were beneath the surface.
For this joint visit to the Dungeon, not only Molten Maul was there but also the Vice Captain.
A Chienthrope who, unlike the dwarf, was calmer even in the midst of battle. Her short black hair was almost touching her shoulders and the pale skin contrasted with the golden eyes that were almost shut, yet she still kept her gaze trained on the ones that were fighting, donning a tranquil smile. She wore small suit of armor that allowed her to move rapidly between the enemy ranks and pierce their defenses; from her arm there were hanging a pair of kamas.
"Dear do not show off during training, after all they need the experience in these places more than we do."
Her name was Arabella Serala, a Level 3 adventurer who accompanied Heimdall Familia for a few years now and earned her position not just from her level but because of the feats she was able to accomplish, not only that she was seen as many in the Familia as the mother of the group, despite being somewhat young.
"Are Miss Wind Hacksaw and Molten Maul married? " From behind, the timid mage asked, seeing another Killer Ant appearing from the far wall.
"No" A young boy that was sitting in a nearby rock laughed. "She usually teases him like that and we just play along."
The voice was from one of the Executives; a human mage that was probably no older than Ragnar, dressed in a stylized mage robe that was barely touching the floor, the fancy and pointy shoes and a small cap with a point on top.
His auburn curly hair looked like a lion's mane, albeit more unkempt, the dark purple eyes full of vigor and youth and a careless smile that could only trace back to the same deity that he works under.
"How about you stop doing nothing and give me a hand with this one?!" Yelled Thom, raising his weapon and prepared to take the Killer Ant.
But the Chienthrope giggled. "Very well, honey." She held both kamas and took a step forward, finding a clear path towards the monster. "Selos, dear, mind helping me with this? "
"Sure thing ma'am." Selos Erelin, a Level 2 mage with a peculiar adventurer name given by the gods, stood up and spin the staff in between his fingers. "Fire of the soul, guide my hand and guide my mind. Let this heat of battle be the one that clears your purpose. Sol Ignis."
"Much appreciated, Flame in Shadows." Arabella smiled and her weapons took a slight reddish glow.
The girl leaned forward, her legs moved as the foot slowly slid against the rocky floor and her tail swayed from one side to the other, getting into position as she saw her pray advancing towards the dwarf.
Her lips parted, whispering words that would fill her body with enough strength to do a powerful attack, all combined with the status of a Level 3.
"Ventus Celeris."
In the blink of an eye, Wind Hacksaw, the gentle woman that was by the group just moments ago was now on the opposite side of this cave, far behind the Killer Ant.
There was silence, the monster was not moving at all and everyone else was waiting for something to happen. Did she miss? Was her skill the ability to teleport behind someone or something?
Crack
The sound of something shattering as most of the adventurers in that cave saw the Killer Ant's carapace getting cut in millions of pieces, the body of the creature was getting sliced and the Magic Stone that was hidden within got destroyed, leaving nothing but dust.
"And then I'm the one who get called out for showing off! " The disgruntled dwarf scoffed after the demonstration from his teammate.
From another opening in the cave, another Killer Ant came out, and then another and a third one from the same wall.
Fighting one at a time was easy but three? That was a tough challenge for low tier adventurers and turns out this group had many of them.
"Finally I can get some fun." Theresa stepped forward, moving her arm around as a warm up.
"We'll join you in this battle too! " Livia was also ready to join but behind her Fanis, Noel and Albrecht, all of them ready to fight against the ants.
Although the chances of succeeding easily were not that big, it was going to be a victory nonetheless.
"Allow me to assist." Another voice joined the group, another Executive in Heimdall Familia and the last one that joined this joint party.
A man, and a tall one at that, his crimson hair was tied into a ponytail, wearing a chest plate, shoulder and knee pads, his armor was much to be desired but what he lacked in defense he compensated in muscles.
A Were-Tiger, brandishing a giant sword over his shoulder, this adventurer was a Level 2 and had plenty of confidence in himself.
"So? Ready to go in?" He winked at Theresa whose only response was to look at him in such a way that felt like she was looking at talking garbage.
The group went forward, Albrecht took the lead and blocked the attack from one of the ants while the other two went past him to attack the others.
One of the monsters was struck by the light magic from Fanis while the punches from Livia and stabbing from Noel were doing some damage to it. Or at least it would be but the silver haired was finding no solution to his attacks as the armor of the monster was thick enough to bounce any attack.
"What?!"
The ant noticed this and was ready to bite down Noel's head if it weren't for the blade whip tightening the monster's neck and pulling it away.
"Do something! " Theresa used all her strength to pull the head away, giving Noel a good look at an uncovered part of the monster. Sadly despite his attempt, the ant swayed its head violently and pushed Noel away and to make matters worse, the dagger in his hand fell.
"Vice-Captain! " Fanis yelled, as another beam of light hit the monster to keep it in check.
"I'm tired of you! Hey, big guy, give us a hand! " The Amazon complained, she released the whip from around the creature's neck the moment she saw the shield bashing against the ant's body.
Theresa jumped into the air and with all her strength she landed on top of the creature, stabbing it in the chest through the carapace, making it squeal in pain before it fell to the ground. While on top, she removed the blade and stabbed it a few more times culminating into the death of their enemy and the Magic Stone falling to the floor.
Skadi's children looked at the two ants remaining; the kids from Heimdall didn't have much trouble fighting against them and while they were a few more than the first group, they did have far more experience and better equipment than them so eliminating the threat was, naturally, far quicker.
The last of the ants was tangled on a duel with the Were-Tiger. The two of them were looking at each other, the crimson-haired individual aimed his curved great sword, a flamberge, at the monster.
As soon as the creature advanced, so did he, albeit letting the sword drop to the floor. His strategy was suicidal but while most of Skadi's adventurers were terrified of what was going to happen, the others simply rolled their eyes.
The half-beast tackled the monster and pushed it a few meters before both fell. He swiftly moved around, putting his arm around the creature's neck and using the other to further tighten the hold, he used his legs to lock the ant in a maneuver that, for many, looked ridiculous if not overly dangerous. For the fist-fighter of the group, this was amazing.
"Hey, Amazon, why don't you get the finishing blow?" He smiled at Theresa who slowly walked forward to the struggle that was happening. She raised her elbow and stabbed the monster, striking directly into the Magic Stone, fracturing it and confirming the kill.
The tip of the sword was just inches away from the adventurer's heart who was able to relax after the creature died.
"Heh, if you pushed a bit more then you would've penetrated my armor and killed me." He cackled and stood up, picking up his blade.
"Yeah, would've been a shame…" Theresa saw the dagger at her feet and a hand ready to pick it up. She met her gaze with the Vice Captain who was slightly afraid of the eyes of the Amazon.
"Tsch." She clicked her tongue, a look of disappointment in the young one as she stepped away, not even helping him.
"Hey, you know how to fight, and so do I." The Level 2 kept following the tan girl. "Ah but where are my manners, I'm Ezekiel Vasco, but you can call me Egomundi." But it was clear that she wanted nothing to do with him.
"Let me ask you something, if you could at least give me a moment of your time. Is it true that your people only choose the strongest? "
At that moment, Theresa knew where this was going, she stopped in her tracks and slowly turned, her face had an uncharacteristic smile. "Perhaps, are you saying that you are strong enough? "
"Well… I more than adequate about it, I'd say that I could be a good candidate." Egomundi flexed his muscles as a show of strength. "We are one of the strongest races out there, just imagine."
"Alright you two, cut it-"
"Wait." Ragnar put a hand on the dwarf's shoulder, stopping him from intervening. "This won't last long." The blond noticed that something will happen with this conversation, not just the words that were used but because of the one detail that the Level 2 hasn't caught yet.
"Oh I don't need to imagine, a man like you… so strong, powerful… and even for a low tier adventurer, I am so infatuated with you." Despite the clear sarcasm, Ezekiel was the only one who was oblivious to it.
"But I'll have you know, that you are not the strongest person that I know. My Captain, is far superior than you despite how small, stupid, weak or even pathetic he might be."
"You know I can hear you, right? "
"But who knows? Maybe one day you'll be able to be just as good as him. If anything he would've noticed the whip around your leg." Theresa smiled, she knew she won.
"Yeah…- wait, whip?" Egomundi's world got rocked as he felt the whip tighten around one of his legs and when Theresa pulled, he felt to the ground, causing everyone in the party to laugh.
"Alright, enough chatter, we all came here for a reason, so let's keep going a little further down, yeah?" Molten Maul took control of the situation again and the members of his Familia agreed with him, continuing the march down.
"Hey, Theresa." The blond Captain approached the Amazon. "Was it true what you said before? "
"As if!" She laughed. "Have you seen him? He can crush you with minimal effort, I just don't like him around and he's a prick."
Ragnar continued to follow Thom's group along with his teammates, he felt down after hearing that and vowed to himself to train hard that day.
…
It was almost midnight, the day of training and work has already wrapped and the doors at the Golden Horn were closed. The few people that remained there were the adventurers that had to go to the Dungeon that night and were on cleaning duty.
"All the tables are clean, if we keep doing this then we'll end up just turn them to dust." Complained one of the rookies.
"Yeah, also shouldn't Ezekiel be helping as well rather than just sitting by the counter? "
"I am helping! By training my body I can prepare myself for future battles." He raised the mug full of ale, celebrating alone with his teammates.
"Then I suppose you won't be needing this then." Arabella was quick on the uptake and took the mug from Egomundi's hand. "As you know, alcohol is bad for you, sweetie." She winked and downed what was left of the ale and went to the kitchen to clean it.
"Alrighty then." A tired Heimdall stretched his arms as he left the counter area. "Today has been nothing but a productive day so make sure everyone to get some rest, I know I can't do that just yet."
"Aren't you going to help us here, Lord Heimdall? " Selos was in charge of mopping the floor. "From what I heard you spent most of the day outside."
"For a good reason!" He placed his arm around the mage's shoulders. "After all, I do have to investigate our competition to see how we can improve! "
"Oh yeah? And what did you learn? "
"I learned that the best employees are the happiest and most patient."
So in other words, he did nothing all day and everyone sighed.
"In any case, I'll be in my office, have a good night everyone! "
"Good night Lord Heimdall…" The employees said in a very unhappy unison voice.
"Oh Thom, when you have the time, could you please pay a visit to my office? Preferably soon."
Thirty minutes have passed since then, Heimdall was writing some letters and putting them inside of the envelopes.
The office was no other than the deity's bedroom, with a bed in the far end, bookcases, a map of Orario and his personal desk as well as a cabinet full of unopened wine bottles. His desk was full of books, both to keep track of the tavern's finances and some other personal matters.
There were three knocks on the door and the dwarf came in, he already relieved himself of his armor and the apron that anyone in the Familia had to wear whenever they were working.
"What is it? "
"This might sound a little bit weird but have you noticed something strange on the way back from the Dungeon? " Heimdall asked, his vision still focused on the letter that he was writing.
"Something strange? There were no monsters around if that's what's bothering you…" The sound of the pen was the only response as the deity continued with his work. "But…" The pen stopped. "Arabella said that she thought someone was watching us."
"Us in particular? "
"Or Skadi's kids, we were all together as we left the Dungeon so it was hard to tell. And if anything it's not too surprising either, we were a big group today."
"I see…" Heimdall answered in a low tone, finishing writing the letter and putting it inside of the envelope.
In front of him were three letters, all finished and already packed inside of their respective envelopes, the contents were a mystery to the dwarf.
"Don't go to bed just yet, I need a little favor to ask." He handed the papers to the dwarf. "I need you to go to Daedalus Street and put these in the mailbox. How fast can you go? "
"Twenty minutes, probably less if I go through the rooftops." Thommerlum looked at the envelopes, they were all addressed to A B and C, no extra information nor who the sender was. This was not the first delivery he had to do so he knew who would pick it up and for what purpose he would put these in a certain mailbox. However, there was another question that plagued his mind at that moment.
"Heimdall, are the contents of these letters that important that you need them delivered now? " The deity nodded. "Will this put the Familia in danger? " Once again there was silence coming from the easygoing god but rather than moving his head, he was quiet.
The dwarf sighed. "Can you at least tell me what might be the case here? "
"Skadi is afraid of something. A certain enemy might be behind what happened to her children recently and while I don't think they are behind it, I cannot be entirely sure either…"
"Evilus? " The lack of response made the short individual grunt, despite their apparent dismantle years ago, their shadow still loomed over Orario. "I can see why this might worry you. Alright, I'll get ready."
"Thom." The dwarf was ready to leave the office when he turned around to look at the deity. "Be careful, alright? "
"Aye, but those rumors won't kill me that easy." Through that bushy beard, he smiled at his God and left.
Heimdall laid back on the chair, letting out some air as he looked out the window, he had a clear view of Babel in the distance as well as the many lights in the city. His heart was beating as worry was slowly creeping in.
Was the threat of Evilus really just Skadi's paranoia or was there another player in Orario that wanted to take her out? So far, there were many questions and no answers.
"We'll see how this plays out…" He muttered and closed the window.
And we're back in this new year with a new chapter! I've been struggling to find a way to make it work but in the end I decided to twist it a little bit by introducing a few more characters of Heimdall Familia, after all they are in this story as well and who knows, maybe more will show up later? Granted, this chapter is shorter compared to the others as I tried to experiment.
Hope you enjoyed the chapter, as always I'm glad seeing all the follows and favs as it just brings a smile and is what motivates me to try and push more chapters every time.
On another note, I am done with season 4 of the series in terms of the Light Novels and will soon start with season 5, speaking of that, I am pissed that they split the last episodes for spring.
With nothing else to say, hope you have a great weekend and I'll see you in the next chapter!