Man, basically a month since my last update. Sorry about that. Between finals, a sickness, and this chapter not coming easily. Still, hope to get a few more out before next semester starts on the 16th.
Also, for those of you keeping up on newly released volume 20. In addition to having to add a centipede-venom-dragon to the 67th floor, I have a question for you. It has been theorized that Leon Vardenburg's magic spell's 'trials' reference the names of Zeus/Hera executives. If true, this makes 'Regnant' seemingly refer to the Hera Captain. Likely meaning Regna or something of that nature was her name. I used Cerea for her name in this AU. What do you think her name was? And should I substitute Regna (or whatever someone else comes up with) in and replace all the Cerea's?
Hope you enjoy a bit of a calmer chapter with more plot and interactions over battles.
Haziq Saffari - Bit hard to date the Freya Episode plot. The DanMemo video has her sort of talk about 'I'd spend days tormenting Ottar, observing my children, and tormenting Ottar again. Fun days, with nothing to be changed...Etc...I found that boy.' Seems to indicate there was some time between that and Bell. Don't have LN version to see what that says. I'll likely treat it as happening right before Ottar's level up, although not certain. I do intend some out-of-Orario arcs, with Freya leaving too, but not sure an already laid-out arc were the Freya execs are specifically just stalking and lurking is what I want. Do like Ari though, and possible I'll change my mind.
torresjuan010 - Thanks for both reviews. Appreciate it. Glad the Dungeon parts are landing. Danmachi has so much room to show there, even if plenty of arcs focus entirely on surface affairs. And yeah, how Ottar is perceived and how he interacts with others is a big part of this story. He's pretty mysterious (or just straight forward obsessed) in canon, but we see times when he just acknowledges and helps (Mikoto, Bell, Ais) others. He's also a guy fine with walking away without elaboration though. This is chance to have similar such acts spiral into actual...interactions *gasp*. Shakti is just one of first. Turning distant acknowledgement of trust into something closer. Freya's reaction, hard to guess. She's whimsical, to say the least. Even she probably doesn't know how she feels about something till she sees it. And 10-20k for me? Depends on what I write. Dialogue is often harder for me, while battles faster. Most my chaps take most of a dedicated day and change, with some a bit more broken up with parts written over several days.
For your second review (just in time). No, Shakti is basically AU here as canon gives us little about her. I like her though, and really wanted to expand upon her to explore things like her SEVEN dead siblings and being the captain of the familia with most first-class. Anurakti Varada felt like threading the needle. Once again, glad on Dungeon fight. Monsters is a variety of challenging environments create tense battles. Who knew? For Ottar's interactions. While he rages against sullying Freya's honor and has pride as a representative of her, otherwise he is utterly lacking in jealousy and acknowledges true effort of others. So, he is very liable to help to those who display such. He rises in a world with many growing adventurers. In my headcanon, Ottar would be far stronger in a world where Zeus/Hera didn't fall. Although...he isn't particularly a good teacher. Inexperienced, at least. I hope he starts getting closer to more people, like Sakti, although trying to avoid forcing too much. Yea, you can contact me. Do have this on QQ and SB that make responding easier, but PM's here are also fine. Obviously, I like talking Danmachi.
Another roar of a Valgang Dragon was cut short by Ottar's blade cutting through its neck, head falling first onto the ground only to be quickly followed by its heavy body.
Ottar was more concerned, however, with his broadsword. Or its remains. Finally, the wear and cracks that had been accumulating in the Glacier Territory reached the critical point when put against the scales of the Valgang Dragons. The first half that scattered with the strike was joined as the bottom half crumbling before his eyes.
That left only his war hammer, a single of his dual blades, and a single spike remaining of the assortment of weapons he had descended with.
Throwing away the worthless hilt, Ottar looked up. More monsters were approaching. Wyverns and other flyers in the air, and lumbering Vangang Dragons. He had already ravaged the area around the stairs, but the 58th floor was not so easily cleared. After all, even Ottar had been stalled on this floor for years. Both monsters and the Dungeon also had a predatory instinct to weaknesses and opportunities…like a weapon shattering.
Of course, he didn't need to eliminate them. He could easily reach the stairs with his speed. The large bag on his back was already filled with materials and drops from deeper, so more were unnecessary.
These monsters just weren't worth the extra effort and time from him anymore.
Yet, he considered who he had left on the 59th floor. The Ganesha Familia. They had managed to reach it.
True, they had to use twice the numbers as his fellow executives under Lady Freya. They had also been in over their heads. Bunkering down yet till quickly worn down and depleted of supplies and energy. Looking at them, they were far from impressive or inspirational.
They had still done it. With only Level 5's too. That had to be acknowledged. If they had done so a month ago, they would have shamed himself, his familia, and the Loki familia.
While that possibly said more about how things had been a month ago…
"Humph," he grunted to himself, reaching back and grabbing his war hammer.
'In acknowledgement of you brave warrior of the Elephant God…'
'In honor of your Baptism, Ankusha…'
Ottar's legs tensed, and the next thing the lead monster saw was Ottar in midair before it with war hammer drawn back.
The impact was laced with numerous cracks and crunches as scales and bone shattered, monster letting off belated cry as it toppled and struggled on the floor.
"I'll tear open a slight opening for you," he said aloud as he landed again.
He proceeded to decimate the enemy on the 58th floor. He then started up the stairs, taking care to clear the way more than he needed to. The Dungeon would fill in the void left behind, but the Dungeon did have a limit. If the Ganesha familia started their ascent soon, the effect would be noticeable. If they took too long, well…
Then they'd have to forge their own path.
By the 53rd floor, he came to a halt around a corner as he listened to a familiar voice.
"Remember, we're splitting into two groups. I'll lead the former in-"
Loki Familia?
Guess passing by and operating in the same area was inevitable, since expeditions took longer and longer the deeper they went.
Ottar merely started moving again. Their presence meant he could turn entirely to ascending. He had weakened the path enough for the Ganesha familia, and the Loki familia inadvertently, so they could rely on their own merit and each other from now on.
No longer needing to delay or distract himself, he sped up even further. Loki familia was easy enough to avoid on the floor proper. It was a surprise to find they hadn't left a camp on the 50th floor safe zone, but that was hardly something Ottar would dwell on himself. Just cleared the way from an unnecessary meeting in the Dungeon.
The 49th floor proved interesting, however. The Moytura yet remained unrestored. Canyon, craters, and shattered ground remained. Few monsters too.
The failure of the Dungeon to repair it was still not an immediate concern, but still worth noting.
Nothing else was the same. The Volcano Territory was passed over same as before. While his time in the Dungeon ensured he wasn't fresh, he was not in such a state that he couldn't run right over the monsters in his way the same as when he descended. Floors passed fast.
The Volcano Territory.
The White Palace.
The Dense Forest Ravine.
The Water City.
It was only in the Large Tree Labyrinth that his run came to a halt, taking time to breath and consider. He was returning to the surface. While obviously anything here was utterly inferior to what he was already carrying, that was not the only concern that needed to be met.
He quickly spent a bit of time finding and collecting herbs through his sharp eyes and nose before he started up again.
After that, he only stopped on the 18th floor. He ignored Rivira, having no need for it. He instead used the pools there to wash up properly to uphold Lady Freya's standards on cleanliness before surfacing.
After that, it was only as he exited the Dungeon stairs that he slowed again.
It immediately led to the eyes of those adventurers coming and going and Guild members supervising focusing on him. He felt their curious and awed gazes, as well those more calculative that looked at his limited weapons, worn outfit, and full bag on his back. Ottar ignored them, even as his own senses and instincts sorted through them subconsciously.
At least, till one of the guild members – a chienthrope he recognized as one of the high ups – came forth and forced himself to speak even as Ottar's eyes silently moved to him, "S-Sir Ottar. The Guild received news from the Freya executives that the 59th floor had been reached, and you went deeper. If possible, we would like to note what floor you have reached."
Ottar considered ignoring them entirely, but eventually judged it worthy of stating, "I reached the 66th floor before turning back."
Surrounded as they were by adventurers of varying status, it was only natural that this was heard and soon being repeated everywhere.
Ignoring it once again, Ottar was instead stopped as the guild member spoke again, "The 66th?! That's…we received orders from Ouranos for your return, sir."
Ottar was not pleased by the request seemingly straight from the God restraining the Dungeon, but he still accepted it stoically.
He was at the Patheon, the Guild Headquarters, now. He had been led to and subsequently left alone in a room on the second floor clearly meant for private and confidential meetings compared to the Exchange on the first floor. Ottar remained standing, eyes closed, while waiting.
Although…
"Those who attempt to sneak up on me receive no mercy," he rumbled out suddenly.
A moment of silence followed before a voice spoke up, "Worry not, Champion of Freya. This one is a fool, but not such a fool as to invite the enmity of Goddess Freya, the Freya Familia, or yourself."
Ottar opened his eyes to glare as invisibility faded to reveal a figure in a black cloak.
"You show yourself before me finally, instead of watching and hiding," Ottar remarked.
"I have had little reason to bother you," the figure claimed, voice odd in a way that made his ears twitch. The figure chuckled before adding, "If also with reason to keep an eye on you."
Ottar didn't shift or react. He instead stared silently at the figure. He did not know who this was, but that also meant he had no need to humor them. Not even apparently being a Guild member changed that.
"I am Fels, a former mage of Altena and a silent ear to the Great God Ouranos," the figure spoke, the lack of a discernable heartbeat and odd voice making it hard – but not impossible – to identify the fear in the voice. "The Guild is interested in hearing of your exploration of the Glacier Territory and correlating it with our own information. We shall-"
"No."
"-use that to assure ourselves of…What?"
"I shall not share what I discovered," Ottar repeated, uncaring.
"But…it would be helpful to all to discover if the Dungeon shifted these floors in fifteen years of being isolated," Fels claimed, voice raising.
"And that changes nothing," Ottar countered immediately, merely staring. "What obligation do I owe the Guild over information on the floors when it is not returned?"
…
Fels had no immediate response to that. Not when both of them knew that the Guild had specifically hidden information on the 'Secret Floors' after the fall of Zeus and Hera. While partially for the morale of newer adventurers who they decided did not need to know how Orario was still recovering its previous strength, it was not solely for that. They had also refused to release the information on said floors to the top familias. Like the Freya Familia. It was one more reason the 58th floor had been the limit for so long. Unknown monsters and unknown floor layout lay beyond what was already a point when stamina, supplies, and weapons were strained.
Even Ottar had been reliant on information learned second-hand from before fifteen years ago.
Fels was slow to respond, even if he then did in a reasonable tone, "The intent was always to release our information, of course. We merely believed the exploration of the Glacier Territory would proceed best if the Freya and Loki Familias came to cooperate-"
"And you should have always expected adventurers to have forged their way regardless," Ottar said, walking past the cloaked figure to the door. "I and the Freya Familia will only tell what we have learned by our own desires or by order of the Goddess. Do not assume anything from us."
Ottar did not desire conflict with the Guild, but only one person could demand anything of their Familia.
Any belief otherwise was best squashed.
So spoken, none stood in his way as he left.
While the sojourn to the Pantheon actually put him further from Folkvangr than Babel, it hardly was an issue. Jumping onto the roofs to avoid any further looks, he was soon closing the distance in no time. Careful footwork and choice in jumping ensure that he didn't damage the roofs as he passed. It allowed him to soon reach the walls of Folkvangr.
Ignoring the temptation of clearing the walls, he alighted before the gate and said to himself solemnly, "I have returned, Lady Freya."
He then opened the large gate to move through.
He immediately had to deflect a spear strike as fast as the wind with a hand, making him glare and rumble, "Allen."
"Bastard," the cat person vice-captain of the familia said, glaring.
"I overlooked you all attacking me the last time, as Lady Freya handled that," Ottar spoke, eyes narrowing and body tensing. "Do you believe I shall allow you to continue bothering her?"
"I'm the one removing a nuisance," Allen hissed. He ten quickly yelled, "Who the hell did you invite to visit her?!"
…huh?
"…believe it. I try to finally get her off her ass, and she only goes to – You!" a new voice said, clearly approaching only to break out in an accusation as they rounded the corner. "What are you and Freya planning to do with Hestia?"
Now being accused by the Divine Smith on one side and Allen on the other, Ottar could only stand there.
He had been attacked coming out of the Dungeon, and understood that.
He had not been so accused coming out of the Dungeon though, and he didn't understand.
"Whew, you got some of the good stuff~."
"Huhu, and it's amusing how you choose to drink the good stuff."
Ottar had seen many things serving as Lady Freya's attendant. So, he was surprised by little. Nor did he presume to judge Lady Freya.
He did, however, have to acknowledge that he did not know how to react to some things.
This was one such sight. Lady Freya laid out on long chair, wine in hand and cheeks flushed just enough to indicate she had imbibed some already. Also with her was another goddess. One he recognized.
Goddess Hestia, who he had met when he approached the Divine Smith before he dived.
She…was roughly the same. Hair still in twin tails, and same dress. She was also more than a slight bit intoxicated. In fact, she was drinking a bottle of fine wine from Lady Freya's collection straight from the bottle. Sprawled out in a less dignified pose than Lady Freya, she had the bottle held straight in the air as she drank.
"Tch, how low-class," Allen spat.
"H-Hey, don't say that. I am perfectly c-classy," the goddess declared, pointing unevenly at Allen. "I'm just…en-enjoying myself."
It appeared that Hestia had shown up at the gates three days ago. Usually the Einherjar intimidated visitors away, but many were spending more time in the Dungeon. That had also proven a day when Lady Freya came out due to lack of entertainment.
The result was seemingly the two drinking and relaxing, most of the executives left grinding their teeth at Hestia freely called for food and drink from Lady Freya's handmaidens and attendants.
Her shift now allowed Ottar's own great size to catch her attention.
"Oh, hey~. I remember you, Ott…Odd…Big Guy!" she said as her hand now turned to him.
"Ottar, you've returned successful, I hope," Freya commented, sipping at her own wine.
"I have, Lady Freya," he said as he gave a slight bow.
"Oh, yeah. Ottar. I totally knew that," Hestia said as she stood and pranced closer till she could pat his stomach that was level with her face, declaring, "Got to thank you. That invitation was well timed, I…Am I touching a stone wall or are those really your abs? Also, are you really this tall? It feels like I'm practically face-to-face with your-"
As Hestia got distracted trying to find the trick while muttering freely and Ottar didn't know what to say, it was Hephaestus that facepalmed and groaned out, "Just a few days with Freya, and you're already like this. Are you really a Virgin Goddess?"
"Oh, hey, it's Hephy," Hestia said as she pointed at the Divine Smith, wide grin on her face even as she continued feeling up Ottar's stomach.
"Oh yes, wonderful to see you, Hephy?" Lady Freya commented, smiling and enjoying using the nickname. "Do you wish to join us?"
"~Yes, yes~. Join us, He-" Hestia started cheerfully, only to freeze. Suddenly, she was crouching behind and clutching Ottar's leg as she hissed, "No! I almost forgot! You kicked me out! Leave, leave, get out~."
…
"Unless of course you came here to apologize," Hestia now said, springing right up with seeming absolute confidence as she looked smugly at the Divine Smith.
"Absolutely not," Hephaestus retorted, leading Hestia to once again crouch behind Ottar's leg and start hissing. "In fact…Really, Hestia? Did you really internalize nothing of what I told you?"
"You kicked me out," Hestia reiterated, pouting. "I spent a night on the streets till I remembered this invitation."
"And so over actually listening to me and figuring out how to handle yourself, you did what? Run to Freya's and play around for three days straight?"
"Annoying as fuck," Allen muttered.
Hephaestus ignored the always acerbic adventurer though, merely continuing while waving her hands, "You're not even friends with her like me, so where do you get off? It's too risky to get in her debt. You don't even like her."
"Hey," Freya let out as Ottar and Allen's gazes sharpened.
"Um, I don't dislike you," Hestia quickly said, now nervous. She gestured to Freya, emphasizing, "You're just…a whole lot of…that."
"Oh, I don't care about that," Freya claimed instantly, however, waving it away. She instead looked at Hephaestus as she continued, "And that Hestia doesn't like me is half the reason I like her. No, why is it dangerous for her to come to me? Do you think I so wicked, when tis you that threw her onto the streets?"
"That's right," Hestia said, nodding in agreement.
"Don't try to kid with me," Hephaestus retorted firmly though, not backing down before either goddess or the looks of two adventurers. "We both know your whim is uncontrollable, and it will eventually catch Hestia up in it."
"Says the one that put her out now."
"Yeah, she's right," Hestia crowed again, pointing at Hephaestus. She then turned to Ottar and started poking her leg as she continued, "Hey, Ottar. You're big and strong, right? Take her out. Do it."
"Oh ho, that would indeed be amusing to see," Freya huffed.
The Divine Smith turned to him with one eye sharp, warning, "Don't."
Ottar stared for several moments, then consciously controlled his lips to smile.
His hand reached out, grabbing the back of her collar and effortlessly lifting her off the ground.
Her eyes remained locked with his, daring him to continue this act.
Unfortunately for her, Ottar was more than willing to bear her ire for the chance to finally get one up on the Divine Smith.
"Ah ah ah, I didn't really think you'd actually try to do it," Hestia said, façade clearly breaking down. "She's not – you don't actually have to do that."
"Yes, Ottar, you don't actually have to do it," Hephaestus said, smirking at him again.
Once again triumphant.
…Ottar had to hold back an irritated growl.
A few minutes later, the three goddesses were sitting at a table with Ottar and Horn serving as attendants, Allen refusing and merely leaning against a nearby wall.
And Hestia was drunk sobbing.
"Why did you do that, Hephaestus?" she whimpered out, clearly still more than a bit tipsy. "I spent the night on the streets, and it was cold and all sorts of things."
"It's called showing you what will happen if you intend solely to live off someone else," Hephaestus explained coldly, arms crossed and eye closed to not allow the crocodile tears to affect her. "I told you for months, and it did nothing. I even let you stay longer than planned because things got crazy."
"You were going to kick me out earlier?!"
"Yes."
"But it was coooooold."
"It's spring, so you would survive."
"You are speaking a bit rough, Hephaestus," Freya now noted, giggling. "I'm sure a lighter touch is possible."
"You do not know Hestia," was the immediate retort she received. "She's as hardheaded as anyone. I allowed her to relax for several months since she's usually a workaholic in heaven and just descended, but I forgot that she's a workaholic because she's a NEET."
"I am not!"
"You are," Hephaestus shut down, sending Hestia a look that drew an eep. "You tended the Sacred Flame so diligently because you didn't want to go outside and deal with trouble from the other gods. Now, with no flame to tend, you'll hide away and idle till you get kicked out. Freya, you should be thanking me as you'd likely have had her bumming around here for months."
Allen gagged in disgust.
"Oh, that might have been kind of fun. I don't get many visitors in Folkvangr," Freya mused, clearly thinking differently.
"Wait, so I can stay?!" Hestia burst out, slamming her palms onto the table and then sending a smug smirk at Hephaestus. "What counteroffer do you have, Hephy?"
Ottar hummed in his throat, wondering when this had become a bidding war.
Clearly it wasn't though, as Hephaestus responded bluntly, "I offer a job, and a throwaway property I picked up several years ago and is still abandoned."
"I don't want either of those things!"
"Well, of course she'll pick up a job," Freya remarked with a finger to her cheek cutely.
"I'll what?!"
"Glad we agree on that," Hephaestus said, calming slightly at that.
"If one doesn't have a familia to support them, it's only natural they have to work. I mean, I never had to, but that doesn't mean I don't understand the principle," Freya continued in a reasonable tone, besides when teasing. Although here she sent a look at the redhead. "I believe I know just the perfect place for her to work, however, and I don't see why she can't stay here."
"No. She needs to find her own job, and she definitely isn't living here. It's far too dangerous."
"Oh, are you implying something about my familia?"
"Yes, and also something about you."
"Fine, I'll arrange her job and she can live with you."
"Eh?"
"And I have visiting rights."
"Not what I was saying 'Eh' about. I don't want her."
"R-Rude!"
"Okay, I know some people with townhouses that could rent a room to her."
"You mean your worshippers, hardly better. She lives away from you."
Besides an occasional protest, Hestia largely just looked worryingly between the two.
At least till she looked at Ottar and asked in confusion, "When did I become the child in a custody battle?"
Ottar did not quite know what she meant, so he merely let out another rumble from his throat as a response.
Finally, Lady Freya nodded in satisfaction and said, "I believe that is acceptable. I shall arrange her a job."
"And she'll live on the property I am offering," the Goddess of the Forge finished off.
It made Hestia once again protest, "Hey, don't I get choice in this? And the abandoned property again?!"
"No, you don't," Hephaestus answered bluntly. "A goddess that lacks a familia has no choice but to accept the generosity of those around her."
"Hey, I tried. I asked an elf to join my familia, but they only asked how many members I had, what resources were available, and a bunch of stuff like that," Hestia protested and quickly explained, pouting. "They walked right away when I said I didn't have a familia or a home yet."
"Quite natural, no," Freya remarked.
"It is, yes," Hephaestus agreed, looking at Hestia severely. "If you don't have applicable divine skills to entice adventurers, most deities start their familias outside Orario. Or if you'd bothered recruiting when I allowed you to live with me for months, you could have offered some housing and I would have been open to negotiations for some of my children to escort any newbies. You are in your current position because you didn't do anything until I made you, which only reinforces why I had to kick you out."
"Ah, so mean~," Hestia declared, only to now turn and send watering eyes towards Ottar. "They're being mean! Ottar, you're super strong, right? And this familia is super rich and strong, right? You have to be able to help me. Introduce me to some super strong but also super humble and desperate adventurers."
"Do…do those exist?" Horn whispered from the side.
Ottar was rather baffled too. He hadn't been asked such before. For good reason too. While he was willing to acknowledge fellow adventurers and go out of his way at times for the sake of that acknowledgement, he had no reason to aid another familia in growing from the wider perspective.
Adventurers should concern themselves with their fellow adventurers, and leave the deity business of familias to the deities.
Not even being a familia captain changed that.
Plus, he hardly knew this deity and she was only turning to him because Lady Freya and the Divine Smith had come to an agreement she didn't like and she was searching for any allies.
"Except by the order of Lady Freya, the only reason I would have to aid you would be if you became an allied familia," Ottar informed her stoically. "Is that what you want?"
Honestly, Ottar didn't have much interest in that. Such relationships between familias were unreliable by nature. Gods were hardly bound by such agreements and adventurers were rowdy. In the right circumstances, either could lead to conflict. Not to mention, the strength of their familia meant any alliance was more a subordinate that they'd have to protect and take responsibility for, since they'd be an easier target for any enemies. Ottar was not the type for such, much less the wider familia. Protection and mentorship was not their forte. The Freya Familia only extended such protection for a few entities under Lady Freya's personal command.
If this goddess desired that, Ottar still wouldn't see much reason and would just refuse he-
"Eh, allies sounds a bit-" Hestia started too.
"Don't you dare, Hestia," the Divine Smith immediately exclaimed though, leaning forth with a frown. "It will just end in trouble. I'm telling you."
Ottar's thoughts froze as he realized how much the mere mention had worked up the Divine Smith.
"Plus, he wouldn't actually offer that. You've barely met him, but Ottar is someone who only thinks…about…" Hephaestus continued, only to trail off as she caught sight of his face.
Ottar realized he once again had moved his lips to form a small smile.
"Don't do it," the Divine Smith warned, eye flashing. Also a bit of panic though as for once she realized she was the one backed into a corner. "You are just going to irritate me, Ottar, and I will get you back."
It might be petty to use such things to get back at the Divine Smith for always getting the better of him, and Ottar preferred not to be petty.
Yet, even he had his moments.
"Goddess Hestia," he spoke aloud, turning to face the diminutive goddess and meeting her blue eyes. "I cannot introduce you to any such adventurers, but I can assist in other ways."
"Don't."
Hestia spoke without acknowledging the warning from her friend, humming as she said, "And I said, allying with Freya is a bit…"
"I can provide some financial aid in terms of equipping any new adventurers you recruit and furnishing your new home."
"Deal!"
"Dammit!" Hephaestus cursed as Hestia gave in immediately, leaping and latching onto Ottar's arm without hesitation.
"I'm out of here," Allen declared too, stomping out with a venomous look towards Ottar. "I want no part of this. Don't expect anyone else to help in this. I'll kill you, meathead, if you even think about lowering the tribute to Lady Freya."
As if Ottar would ever do that. For a new familia, even a million valis was overblown. That could buy a house outright, compared to merely fixing up whatever property was provided. That was also barely a fraction of what even a single weapon for him would cost.
He could pay for anything of new familia with negligible portions of his funds.
"Haha, and you guys were talking about not being able to support myself," Hestia crowed, still hanging onto Ottar's arm even as he sent her a blank look while raising his arm to lift her up too. "Is this what Zeus called a sugar daddy? A guy who pays for things so long as I get a bit friendly? Hera said they were bad things, but this is great."
"Hestia, truly…shut up," Hephaestus said, now just holding her head in pain even as Ottar slowly started to move his arm back and forth to try and shake off the goddess still hanging on. Although the Divine Smith then sent him a look, warning, "You'll regret this."
Despite that, he saw the slight acknowledgement that he won this time.
Touche.
"Perhaps so, Lady Hephaestus," Ottar conceded, bowing his head as he gave up and ignored the limpet on his arm. "But I see no reason to hold back for the sake of someone who has already left me unsatisfied so many times."
…
Ottar did not know why Horn recoiled and sent him a baffled look, or why Lady Hephaestus gained a look of amused exasperation.
Although, both quickly fell by the wayside as a chiming laugh rang out, "Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha."
Freya's laugh drew all of their attention immediately, wiping away all thought, with only Hestia taking a moment to look too.
"How delightful," she let out, voice still chuckling even as she spoke. "Truly, I would hardly have expected anything done or spoken here to happen this morning. A lovely day, all told. Some wine with company, news for Mia, a few laughs and jokes to torment Ottar with in the future, and Ottar's unexpectedly offered to support another familia. I wonder if we did this day over several more times if it would have turned out so even once more."
"Don't make me consider how this might have gone with a few differences," Hephaestus murmured with resigned indignation.
"Well, this seems to have gone magnificently for me," Hestia proclaimed, finally dropping from Ottar's arm and puffing out her chest with fists on her hips. "This is my day."
"You still have to move out."
"I'll also ensure you are picked up in a bit for your first day on the job."
"Ack, why?" Hestia protested, taking the simultaneous responses like a blow to the stomach. She pointed at Ottar as she continued, "I got support already. Sugar daddy!"
It got her no leeway.
"He's only paying attention to you to annoy me," Hephaestus stated bluntly.
"I'm the only one allowed to torment Ottar and have him support me," Freya added on too.
Ottar still didn't understand the odd look Horn once again sent him.
Finally, after the other goddesses left, Ottar found himself before his Goddess in the manner he expected upon returning from the Dungeon.
"The 66th floor," Freya remarked with a smirk as she reclined before him. "Very good. I did not expect such a grand jump after breaking through to the Glacier Territory, even with the level up. Yet I suppose it inevitable that you would go deep after the others reached the 59th floor first. Always competing with each other. How cute."
"I did not delve to compete with them, Lady Freya," Ottar stated simply.
Very true. Even if he knew of and respected the desires of the other executives to surpass him, they were not his rivals. Even if he felt pity towards them over it, he did not think of them so. They were behind him, chasing his back. He was instead looking forward, offering them no more than a back they had to chase.
Even Finn and his crew only remained as nominal rivals due to shared memories of long-gone days of being comrades in being beaten up by Zeus and Hera, and the fact that they were of a rival familia with abilities beyond strength that he could not match.
If he had any true rivals remaining, it was the Knight of Knights.
Or the memory of that person he had wanted to beat more than any other.
…
He merely lowered his head as he continued, "I simply fought to find my limits, Lady Freya, and push them further."
"And did you?" she asked, smirking.
"No, Lady Freya," he acknowledged, staying firm against any irritation at that. "I can press further. My weapons merely could not hold up."
"I see," she replied, tilting her head now as she settled. The look of a goddess that included War in her domain emerging. "I assume you are working to correct that."
"I have already commissioned new equipment from the Goibnu Familia, Altena, Vul Lodir, and Solingen," he explained. "I lost my newest and best equipment against Balor, and these were merely the remainder. I am hopeful that this set will last deeper, preferably for more expeditions too."
"Good. I actually have news on that too," she informed. "I sent Hephaestus back with a note to return tomorrow. I also have made arrangements with both Hermes and Dian Cecht. They all shall be bringing their best for an appraisal."
"I have many drops and other materials, my Lady, but I do not believe that to be necessary."
"I am not referring to what you just returned with, but that," she claimed, pointing behind her at the large glass orb on her mantle.
The Eye of Balor.
"That was a gift, Lady Freya."
"Which means I can use it as I will," she countered, grinning slyly. "That also means I need to know what it can be used for. Whether to help replace the Supreme Black Sword you broke against Balor or as a beautiful necklace to decorate my neck at the next God's Gathering, I can properly decide."
"Of course," Ottar merely agreed. "I shall use it to show what I returned with too from the secret Floors. Whether in the set already being forged or the one after, I hope it shall be enough to reach the limit."
"The 71st Floor. The Dead Floor that halted even that woman's children," she remarked, face hardening. "Even we do not know what did that. I am eager to learn."
"Yes, Lady Freya."
She tilted her head now, asking more calmly, "Do you wish your status updated, Ottar?"
"No, Lady Freya," he answered, not surprising her. "These floors offer enough struggle to test myself against still."
Ottar rarely updated his status. Usually only three times or so every level. Using every challenge to wear on him and test himself against before updates lessened those struggles. He had only had one update as a Level 5 before leveling up, and then only because he had to. They wouldn't allow him to join against the Behemoth without it, and he'd been relegated to a supporter when he refused to level up at that time till he met his own standards for satisfaction.
"Hmmm," she let out, merely looking at him with glowing purple eyes. Voice coming out in a droll. "Then I suppose then there is no need to delay asking why you are so unsettled, Ottar."
…
"I do not kno-"
"My arcanum must be lying to me because I would sooner trust that has failed than you, Ottar, are about to lie to me."
…
"I merely had some unpleasant memories rise during this expedition, Lady Freya."
Ottar had not been lying when he told Ankusha that the skill she had passed to him briefly was unpleasant. It was a weight not only on the body, but also the mind and soul. A weariness that set in. A crack in one's will that allowed old memories to rise.
Memories Ottar had done a very good job at never thinking of for fifteen years.
"Ah, yes. You are the type to rigidly control your mind, discarding the extraneous and unneeded alongside that which you don't understand," she remarked aloud, looking at him with all the composure and surety of a god. "It is one of your greatest strengths, bringing you focus and dedication. Also a weakness that has impacted your eloquence and emotions, but that's cute in a child. I guess it shouldn't be a surprise it might impact you too when you lose said control."
…
"Well?" she asked impatiently. "Are you going to tell me?"
"I would prefer not, my Lady."
Ottar saw little point in dredging up memories more when those memories were the very reason he was unsettled enough for her to notice.
Her lips pursed, but eventually she sighed and instead said, "Of course. If that is what you wish. We have something else to do too, no?"
"Lady Freya," he merely said as he lowered his head in acknowledgement.
"The 66th floor. It has been a long while since you had so much to tell me," she proclaimed again, smiling. She made a graceful move of her head. "Sit, Ottar, and regale me of your adventures."
With that, Ottar actually lowered himself to the floor. He moved to lean his back against her lounge chair. He then opened his mouth and started to speak.
"The Polar Seas are cold, but I erred against any extra clothes to further train myself. The monsters on average are far larger too, although not beyond anything seen before. Many resembled the Bloodsaurus of the Dense Forest Ravine. The real challenges early were underwater, however. Diving shall soon be a valued DA as news spreads. Although, the first real challenge might have been a dragon that accidentally got me by surprise..."
Ottar spoke more than many would believe him capable of.
Here, it made him relax as few things did.
It was an old habit of theirs, since she had first picked him up. When she had made sure he'd sit down each day and try to verbalize to her what had happened that day, when she was teaching him to speak. What he'd done. His thoughts. Even as that became untenable and unnecessary, it spawned a ritual after becoming an adventurer. This one holding up against the test of twenty-five years. Every new floor in the Dungeon he'd explored, he would sit before her and start telling her of what he found.
Every single one.
In recent years, there had been depressingly few occasions.
He was happy to have the chance once again.
The next day, Ottar had a variety of tasks he needed to do.
Stock up on potions and elixirs again. Make a few stops to meet Lady Freya's requests at a few place, like dropping off the herbs to the Aušrinė familia. Receive accounting on his new equipment. Check on his plants at Demeter's. Review the familia's finances to assure that Lady Freya would receive her tribute and the other necessities of Folkvangr would be met. Check in on Vana Mardoll to ensure she was keeping up her training to test the Goliath. The meeting with the item makers to appraise Balor's Eye.
Rare was he this busy, even as captain since the familia was so independent and he rarely involved himself unnecessarily.
If he was diligent, however, he could finish with enough time to serve and act as Lady Freya's attendant for a time too.
Yet, it seemed he had another one he didn't expect.
"-ah, it was so bad. That Syr girl picked me up, and what is she?! She sent me a really scary smile when I kept asking though. Mama Mia was also so loud and scary, and she refused to let me sit. The other waitresses also called me a newbie and said that I needed to do all the bad jobs due to seniority, and they kept teasing me. A waitress too. People started showing up just to make me serve them. Loki-no-boobs even came and just laughed and pointed! For an hour! Mia eventually hit her and threw her out, which was great, but still!"
Ah yes, he remembered now why he had originally had no desire to involve himself in others' affairs when he had no need to.
That didn't stop Lady Hestia, now an ally he had personally affirmed, from whining and trying to drag him while saying, "And I was so tired that when Hephaestus picked me up and led me to where she was providing me, I fell right asleep. When I woke up though, I was in this dusty church. Hephy wouldn't see me either, her familia saying she was too busy, so I can't even protest to her personally. Look! Look at it, Ottar. It's just sad, isn't it?"
…Ottar felt a rather different sentiment when he saw the rundown church.
He remembered this place.
A fight that had drawn his attention. The white-haired witch quarreling with others as she had since first leveling up. It hadn't been her he had seen on investigating, however. It had been a different white-haired girl. Far frailer. Trembling just standing. Meeting her blue eyes. Peeking out the church doors.
Then the girl that would eventually be known as the Incarnation of Talent launching an instinctive surprise attack on anyone seeing said sight, and dealing the newly Level 3 Ottar in a single blow his third humiliating defeat that marked the beginning of his struggles against Zeus and Hera.
Ottar had seen that girl in later years. They had moved into the Hera familia home when Alfia reached Level 6. When Cere- when she had forcibly dragged him without a care even there, he had seen her. Not even Alfia being able to raise too much a fuss before her captain and her whims.
How…irritating, to be brought to a place that once again prompted memories best buried.
As the Goddess Hestia continued to speak, Ottar had to reassure himself that a new familia really couldn't be that much a hassle.
…right?
Hestia merely drinking, lazing around, and crashing with friends. Finds a sugar daddy.
Hestia - "Winning."
Syr is going to devour this cocky oppai loli.
So, this chapter was something of a shift. Not every chapter can be Dungeon Crawler though. Some surface plot and interactions have to happen, even if I realized how easy it is to just have Ottar stand and silently listen as others talk. Developments here were long planned though. I will also admit my timeline of Hestia is a bit off (thought there was one month between Hephaestus kicking her out and recruiting Bell, but checked and it's actually three? That's also two weeks before canon), but not the worse thing to fudge.
Another rando mention from me. Leon's magic kind of messed with one of my Plans. Eventually, I was going to have Ottar gain this skill. I thought it really fit since Ottar's probably had more weapons break on him than anyone but maybe Bell (who as Hestia Knife) or magic sword users.
Simple Styka? (Simple Strength?): Provides a slight increase to user's basic abilities with every weapon broken in battle, and provides user the Fist Strike and Fist Fighter DA's if they are rendered entirely without weapons due to broken weapons. The DA's are boosted in rank the more weapons were broken.
...yeah. Way too similar to Leon's Knights of the Round (Blaze of Round?) for me. Now, this wasn't going to be soon, and wasn't plot relevant. Just something I thought fit. Now, not asking since I'll wait till the right time, but will say I am more open to Skill suggestions than I was before volume 20 came out.
That's it. Hoped you enjoyed. Next chapter is a Tsubaki one, with an Ottar one following (I think).