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Brant pulled his head out of the pile of ash, the fire still raging on around him. The fight had taken everything out of him, he was certain that the Grim Reaper would be knocking on his door any second now. But as his knees buckled underneath the fatigue and stress, he let out a breath of relief due to the comforting weight of Percy tucked between his arms and his chest.
When Percy had slain the dragon, he couldn't help but roar a cheer at the boy, a mixture of elation, adrenaline and pride swelled up inside him . He wasn't much surprised to see the boy faint on the spot after delivering the decisive blow, anticipating it even. Jumping forward to catch the falling boy, the weight of the mass pile of ash crushed his neck.
After dragging the pair of them out, Brant fell to the floor, Percy's body laying limply over his lap. The breathing was slow but it held an even rhythm.
Brant looked over at Reg. With his left eye temporarily out of commission, he had to strain his neck to view the dwarf.
"Ya strugglin' there?" The dwarf said as he lethargically shuffled over. While this was happening, the fire was slowly dimming down. Most of the wood had been turned into charcoal and ash, leaving the remaining fire with less and less fuel. The smog was still suffocating but they were able to sit underneath it, avoiding the more toxic fumes.
"Yeah, how do ya manage only havin' one eye, it's exhausting."
"Ya might have to get used it, Ha!" Reg managed a laugh before letting out a wheezing cough. The dwarf too basically collapsed to the ground, his armour crackling under the heavy weight.
"..."
"..."
The pair just sat in silence as they stared over at the mountain of ash, a giant purple gemstone poking out of it. It was the biggest either of them had seen but in that moment, neither were thinking of that kind of reward.
"Did we really just do that?" Brant murmured.
"Yeah... guess we did..."
The duo were stun-locked at what they had just experienced. They had just taken down the strongest monster in the first third of the explored dungeon.
"If someone had told me even a year ago that I'd be 'ere, I'd have laughed in ya face."
"Same, I'd be wanting whatever drink that stupid bastard must've been havin' to think of something so ridiculous."
The two men shared a quiet laugh. It seemed that no monster's were going to intrude on them now. With the Green Dragon dead and the dungeon still burning down, it would be a long time before any monster set foot in this area.
Treasure trees were a one-time deal, once destroyed or all the gems were used up, that was it. The Green Dragon as well would not respawn here either. It was unsure if another Treasure Tree would grow somewhere else but Brant nor Reg gave a toss about that, they were enjoying their well-earned rest.
"Ya think that was enough for level 3?" Reg pondered, stroking his charred ginger beard.
"Hey!" Brant blurted out. "If that ain't enough for level 4 I'm retiring for a second time, fuck doing anything remotely close to that ever again. What were we even thinking doing this, I must be going mad?"
"Or ya had faith..."
"Faith in what?"
"In the future, heh."
At that, the two men slowly lowered their eyes to the sleeping boy resting in Brant's lap. The boy's body had slowly moved into a more comfortable position. His bleeding, while still ongoing, had become negligible. The burn marks were still ugly and fresh but all three of them had that in common right now.
"Faith in him? The only faith I 'ave in this brat is that he'll only get into more trouble."
"Heh, there ain't no arguing about that but stop being such a downer, admit it."
Brant rolled his eyes as Reg continued to push him to admit something they both knew he agreed with, why was it so important for him to say it?
"Fine... fine. Yeah, I believed in the lad, is that what ya wanted to hear? Course he's the future, he's gonna be the best damn adventurer this world has ever seen and I'm damn proud of that. I've just witnessed a 6-year-old kill a Green Dragon. Yeah we helped and I'd like to think we contributed a lot to this fight."
"Aye, no taking that away from us."
"But did ya see him Reg. He fearlessly walked through fire to face that monstrosity head on. If it weren't for him, we'd probably still be aimlessly walkin' around this blasted dungeon looking for the easy way out."
"Aye... I saw him. We both see what he's gonna be and I can't wait to see it."
"Ha, can ya imagine the looks on those pompous bastards who think their real shit after they find out about our brat 'ere, hahaha!"
The two men enjoyed the mental image of the shocked looks of the likes of Braver for a few seconds before deciding they had sat for a bit too long. The fire had finished eating away at most of the base and was now climbing up the spine of the tree. Before long, they would be showered with fiery leaves and twigs.
"Best get a move on," Brant mumbled. The two struggled to stand due to their injuries. Reg's massive scar running across his chest bled as the dwarf used his Shield as balance. Brant sneered as his burnt leg raged at him for putting weight on it.
After standing and letting the blood flow back through their body, Brant picked up Percy and slowly placed him over his shoulder.
Brant looked around for a second, gaining their bearings. Seeing the opening, he led the way, Reg walking behind him. It was a good thing to as Reg wanted to see the boy's reaction after Brant's praise.
He had noticed the boy wake up just as Brant began talking, it was why he had pushed the man to keep talking. The boy didn't get enough praise from the man and Reg knew Brant struggled to give it. It was good for both of them.
On a side note, Reg really enjoyed the immense blush that was on the boy's cheeks as the lad stared at the dwarf, begging for help. Reg barely held back a chuckle as he winked at Percy, motioning him to go back to sleep. After hiding his face in embarrassment for a second more, Percy complied, slowly resting on Brant's shoulder.
Brant, no longer carrying Perseus on his shoulder, manoeuvred through the dying embers of the forest fire as he made it to the skirts of the grassy plain. Reg close behind, having crafted some make-shift rope from the inner-lining of a still intact log, strapped the boy on his back. The pair had downed what little remained of their health potions, giving a few drops to the young boy.
The two men were still shattered and wanted nothing more than to rest but that option wasn't available right now. Even if monsters couldn't spawn in close proximity, didn't mean any couldn't wonder in.
Maybe the fumes of the fire would deter any from entering, or perhaps they would only entice them, thinking that adventurers were the cause. Either way, the pair kept up their guard.
Brant had attached his Claymore to his back while Reg held his shield. The dwarf had disposed of most of his armour, most of it having been broken or melted in the fight. Reg only had his helm remaining and so he decided to equip his shield and tank any damage if necessary and allow Brant to attack. This was why Reg carried Percy, being better equipped to protect the sleeping boy.
But having now escaped the burning jungle, they realised they had more pressing matter to face.
"How the fuck do we get back up there?" Brant mumbled with a sigh, rubbing the back of his head.
The duo just craned their neck, staring up at the conclave of rock that surrounded them. They struggled to see the top, the edge barely scraping into view. At a glance it almost seemed there was no exit, only the wall meeting the ceiling. They only spotted it because they knew it was there.
"Where'd we slide down?" Reg asked. They had intentionally picked the gentlest gradient part of the cliff to make it easier to descend. Even then, it had been struggle and they had been forced to free fall the last third.
"I guess we start walkin' round until we spot a decent climbin' spot."
Reg didn't have the energy to come up with a second option. He huffed as he shouldered the weight of his shield as they went back on the move, slowly walking. Brant decided to slice through the grass with his Claymore, wanting a clearer view and also a mapping indication that they had already been here in case they looped back around.
Eventually they made it to an area where they could see the entry point that they had entered from. Unfortunately, it was on top of the steepest part they had come across.
"Oi, do you see that?" Brant mumbled to Reg. The smith squinted his good eye and sure enough he spotted it too.
"Oh... thank the heavens."
Sure enough, standing out of the entry point was 6 figures. It was hard to make out at first but there was an obvious spear and a spiked club, both clearly human made weapons.
"HEYYYYY!" Brant hollered, cupping his hands around his mouth. Reg waved his free arm in the air at the adventurers that stood above them.
"...mmmm?" The two barely made it out, but the sound was almost music to their ears. It was a gruff male voice. They couldn't make out what was said but it meant they had heard them.
They just continued to walk forward, hoping to get to the bottom of the cliff, wanting to get into shouting distance. Until they were stopped.
"STAY THERE, WE WILL COME DOWN TO YOU!" A booming voice echoed around the giant room. Brant and Reg were astonished that a voice could be that loud but they gladly listened to the command. Knowing they were being watched and contact had been made, Reg sat down in a small patch of grass Brant had cut open for them.
Brant left the dwarf as he guided the adventurers over to the area they had dropped down, Brant's voice being loud enough to communicate with the party.
Reg carefully removed Percy off his back, placing the boy on the soft ground. His breathing had relaxed and gone back to normal which was good and it seemed the burns had somewhat cooled down.
Reg looked back up. It seemed four of the party had followed Brant, two of the others had stayed back, most likely to guard the only entry and exit point.
After five minutes, Reg heard voices. One was Brant's, another was a calm man's voice and the other was most likely the booming voice he had earlier a moment ago, its deep pitch rumbling in Reg's ears.
"Reg?" Brant asked out.
"Over 'ere lad," Reg responded, raising his hand as he sat up straighter. A moment later, Brant waded through the tall grass, followed by four other adventurers.
One was a human male, wielding a spear. A bit shorter than Brant but still fairly tall, his ashen grey hair was peculiar but other than that he looked normal.
The second was a man clearly from the far-east, his battle dress being a simple black robe covered by hard armour. In his hand was an interesting weapon that Reg only knew of it due to his smithing background. It was called a Naginata. As if he wasn't enough of a far-eastern stereotype, his raven black hair was tided up in a hair-knot, tied with a red string.
The third person was a small figure. A young female prum with green hair that swayed over one eye, the left blue eye being visible. She was wearing typical mage robes and had a custom made staff for her height, interestingly it wasn't made out of wood but instead a type of metal.
Finally, wading through the large grass was a hulk of a man. Towering above all of them, even the blades of grass was underneath his shoulder line, was a Boaz man with chestnut brown hair and eyes to match. A massive wooden spiked club was slung over his shoulders as he wore little armour, not needing much due to his bulking frame that was almost cancelled out with his beer belly that hung out a bit.
"How's the kid?" Brant asked, giving a glance to Percy.
"He's managing, breathing's gone back to normal."
"Hesychia, heal the boy. We can talk while you focus on that," The ashy grey-haired man said in a calm voice, giving the prum girl a smile.
"Already on it, captain," The prum, Hesychia, chirped out as the small ball on the tip of her staff glowed. It seemed she had expected it and had stored a healing spell in her orb. She knelt down next to Percy and began hovering the staff over the boy's body.
"Don't worry, Hesychia's magic is top notch," The Boaz man chuckled out, a big toothy smile on his face.
"Why do you feel the need to shout everything, Tod. That kids asleep, keep ya loud mouth quiet for once, will ya!" The far-eastern man muttered sharply.
"Ok, ok. No need to get your kimono in a twist Lao, hahaha!" The giant man, Tod, said with another chuckle. Lao rolled his eyes as he lent on his Naginata, the blade dug into the dirt.
The captain walked over to Reg, raising out his hand.
"My name's Morpheus, captain of the Hypnos Familia."
"Nice to meet ya, lad. Name's Dyregn but ya can call me Reg," Reg stated as he met the man's hand with his own. The man's hands were firm and strong and Reg could tell this adventurer was stronger than himself.
"Good to meet you Reg. The one with the funny weapon is Lao-"
"It's a traditional weapon!" Lao snapped back, earning a cheeky smile from Morpheus.
"The big lad is Torand-"
"But ya can call me Tod if it pleases ya!" The Boaz man said with another smile, bending down to shake Reg's hand as well.
"And the one healing your small friend is Hesychia, our main healer."
"Hiya," The girl chirped with a smile before going back to healing Percy who was already looking a lot better.
"Get on with it!" Lao remarked, already seemingly fed up with where he was. No worry on the man's face.
"Fine, fine. I should probably calm your nerves as well because the two watching our backs allllll the way up there is this grouchy guy's wife, Yue and my vice-captain Keeley."
With his presentation of his Familia established, Brant and Reg began explaining to Morpheus and the rest of the Hypnos Familia about what had happened, starting with when they entered the giant room. They didn't mention their objective nor their Familia's. They wouldn't hide it but if it wasn't pushed, they didn't see the need to disclose that information.
By the time they reached the point where the fight with Green Dragon started, Hesychia had finished healing Percy, drinking a mind potion before focusing on Brant, more specifically the horrid burn scar on his face.
Brant gave a nod of appreciation, allowing Reg to continue the story. The party listening were intrigued about what they were hearing. The men seemed very interested, jumping in questions as if they were listening to their dad tell a heroic epic.
"How cool was the Dragon?" Morpheus excitedly asked.
"Ooh, that had to hurt, how far did ya fly?" Tod winced at the part where Reg got slashed open
"How strong was it?" Even Lao was intrigued and invested in the story.
"Boy's," The prum girl mumbled as she moved on to Reg.
"Thanks lass."
"What place hurts the most?" She asked.
"Maybe the giant scars on his chest ya airhead!" Lao snarked at the healer.
"Hey, I'm making sure!" she snapped back before turning back to Reg.
"... the scars?"
"I wouldn't mind it, thank you," Reg said calmly, letting the young woman get to work. Reg was always good with talking to the younger generations, something the far-eastern man clearly didn't care about.
"Well I can't give ya too much now," Brant carried on. "After I was whipped away, I was the last to join the fight, best asking Reg."
"Oi gramps, carry on the story. How the 'ell ya recover from that."
The pair of eyes turned away from the man, his face looking a lot better as Morpheus was wrapping bandages around the lesser injuries, instead looking at the dwarf as a soft yellow light flickered around his chest.
"Well I was the second. It was the kiddo 'ere that was 1v1ing that monster for a good couple of minutes before I joined in."
"Seriously?" Lao said, genuinely perplexed at thought of such a small person taking on a Green Dragon solo.
"Yep, before I joined he was holdin' it to a standstill. After I joined in, smashing the monster in the shin, Percy continued fighting through the flames and when Brant joined us, we made good on our 3v1 advantage and after pushing it into a corner, the youngin' finished it off with a strike through the eyes with that sword."
Reg finished the story while motioning to Brant's Claymore. A silence quickly descended as the story sunk into the newcomers.
"Damn, that's some crazy shit," Lao mumbled.
"Ha! Sounds like an epic for the ages. Can't wait to talk to that youngster, he sounds mighty interestin'!" Tod bellowed with a laugh, smacking his crossed knee.
"Well I'm glad you all lived," Hesychia said with a smile as she finished healing Reg's major injuries. The prum went to stand up but quickly stumbled, Morpheus grabbing her arm for balance.
"You alright Hesy?" The captain asked with concern.
"Yes, just a bit light-headed. Is it alright if I take a quick break before I continue healing."
"You've done enough littl'en, get to restin'" Torand said, taking the girl gently and helping her sit down.
"Sorry," she mumbled."
"Don't go apologising for helpin' us, ya've done plenty. We'll manage." Reg said, offering sympathy for the girl's headache at his expense.
"Yeah, the help's appreciated," Brant finished off, making the queasy girl smile as she slumped down, resting on her staff as she let out a sigh.
After a minute, allowing the Prum Girl to rest and a bit more time for some more of the story, the Hypnos Captain tapped his lap to gain everyone's attention.
"Right, shall we get going?" Morpheus said, standing back up. The others didn't argue, joining the man. Tod helped Hesychia stand up, the prum girl muttering she was fine, thanking her comrade for the support.
"Tod, Hesychia. Help these folks get to the top. Lao, come with me."
"Huh? What for?" the man questioned his captain.
"You heard that story. I think the least our new friends deserve is a reward. Let's go and see if any of those gems survived."
"Ya don't have to do that," Reg quickly stated, taken aback by the generosity.
"That's real kind of ya, cheers. I'll come with ya, we can carry more back."
Brant didn't waste this opportunity to make some money, making Reg roll his eyes as his comment was ignored. Brant joined the ash-haired man and the far-eastern guy who swivelled his special weapon onto his back, secured by a rope.
"Here, let me."
Reg looked up at Tod as the giant man bent down and picked up Percy, placing him on his back. The man was so big that the small figure could easily fit in one arm as the Boaz man lifted him up his back.
"Thanks," Reg said. "Ya alright missy, ya need a hand?" Reg asked to the prum girl. She waved her hand and gave a weak smile.
"Thank you but I'll manage, you get used to this being around this lot."
"Ha! Ain't that the truth!" Tod laughed out as the trio began trudging over to the bottom of the cliff. It took a whole minute of walking just to make it to the edge of the bottom, where Reg saw something peculiar.
"What's that?" He said as he hesitantly pointed at a small crater in the ground near the foot of the cliff face. He turned and saw a grin form on Tod's face as he raised his eyebrows a few times. Hesychia just sighed.
"I'll be back in a mo."
"Huh, what do ya-"
Before Reg could finish his sentence, Tod interrupted him by tensing his muscles in his legs before pushing off the ground... hard.
Reg stepped back as a gust of air slammed into his face as Tod leapt up the cliff. Reg followed the man as he continued to rise. In less than 10 seconds, the man had cleared what was easily 150ft in a single jump.
"He has a power enhancing skill but you know, he is kind of freakishly strong even for a level 3."
'Level 3, thought as much?' Reg thought as he was still blown away, almost literally, by the immense show of strength by the Boaz adventurer.
After another 20 seconds, Reg jumped as his ears were pierced by the booming voice.
"INCOMING!"
With a giant thud, Tod slammed into the ground, increasing the crater's depth by another inch. This time, he wasn't holding Percy on his back, having deposited him at the top.
"-what the...?" Reg muttered in shock.
"Right, whose next?" The giant said, cracking his back by flexing his chest.
"Take him before he gets time to regret it." The prum said, not wanting to be the next one to go. She hated when he had picked her up and simply dropped off the cliff. She didn't have time to scream before they hit the ground.
"Right you are. Come on then old timer, let's be moving!"
Before Reg had time to argue, Tod scooped the man up in a bridal carry, gave the dwarf a toothy smile and bent down.
"Hang on!"
It took a second to realise what was about to happen, a second too late.
"-hhhooLLLLLLYYYY FFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuccccccccccckkkkkkkk..."
Hesychia just looked up as the dwarf's very manly scream evaporated as she dreaded that she was next.
Reg had just about recovered from his very quick ascent by the time Tod had gone to recover the others that had gone to scavenge for gemstones.
He had introduced himself to the two women that had waited at the top. The vice-captain was a black-haired cat girl. She wore simple female battle garments; shorts that went down to her knees and a simple top that covered the important bits. A breastplate and some arm greaves was all her armour. Along with her duel knives, it was obvious she was a frontliner. Well it was until she talked.
"*Yawn*... nice to... meet you..." the cat woman said with dreary eyes from her position, lying on the floor. Her demeanour reminded Reg of a house cat, a very lazy one.
The other was a far-eastern woman. Like her husband, she was wearing a traditional far-eastern white battle dress with black armour adorning her front. A katana rested at her hip while a long bow hung off her back with a quiver and arrows. She seemed the female equivalent of husband.
"...aaatttt thhhEEEEEE FFFFFFFFFFFUUUUCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKK!"
'That'll be Brant,' Reg thought as sure enough, the Boaz man perfectly landed on the ground with Brant tightly grasping onto the tree trunks that were the man's arms, his other hand holding onto his hat for dear life. A second later, the captain made the same jump with Lao on his back. It seemed the captain must've been a level higher than Tod to make the same jump.
'That mean's he's level 4... this party is strong.'
After another minute was wasted for Brant to recover and introducing himself to Yue and Keeley, the party decided to move.
"How much did you recover?" Yue asked, sticking close to her husband who wrapped his arm around her waist.
"Enough to consider it not a waste of time," Lao muttered before the two kissed. The other members of the Hypnos Familia groaned. Brant and Reg were polite enough to turn away, not that the couple seemed to care.
"You have enough time to do that when we leave," Morpheus muttered as he held his head in his hands.
"Yeah, don't you think the dungeon is just a bit too much!" Hesychia said in raised tone, clearly not liking the exposed moment between the two.
"Alright lil miss envy," Yue said with a smirk, only making the prum's face get redder in anger. Before Hesychia's lid burst open, Morpheus stepped in.
"Right, right. Let's calm down. I'm sure our friends will want to reach the surface A.S.A.P. Let's get a moving."
Happily leading the way, the captain began making his way through the dungeon. He was quickly followed by the giant Boaz man, who had picked up Percy again.
"Don't worry, it's fine with me." Tod said with a smile as he nestled Percy on his back with a bit of rope they got from their support bag.
"Yeah..." the vice-captain said. "Tod has always... had a soft spot... for kids."
"Is that so?" Brant mumbled with a shrug, not bothered as he didn't have to carry Percy but he made sure to stick behind Tod in case anything happened.
Keeley leaned into Reg, whispering in his ear. "He... cares about... him."
Reg copied the small smile Keeley held on her face as they both observed the man's protectiveness.
"Aye, he does."
Reg and the cat woman followed in next. They were followed by the Prum girl who caught up to them and the three began some idle chat.
At the back was the couple who continued to fawn over each other. They stayed far enough back so their whispering wouldn't be heard.
"What do you make of them, darling? Yue asked as her gaze pierced at the three newcomers.
"The old geezer looks slow, piece of cake."
"The dwarf seems strong though but I'm sure we could take him out in no time."
"Same goes for the scruffy man. From what they said, they sounded fairly strong but nothing we can't handle." Lao stated in a condescending tone.
"The kids obviously the weakest one of them. I struggle to believe they took out a Green Dragon if this is all they are," Yue said, her red string that hung in her hair swaying slightly as she held a bored look. But she noticed her husband's expression change from condescending to something more... predatory.
"If they were telling the truth, that brat is the reason they won."
Yue took a second but she believed her husband and now copied his expression once more.
"It has been a while since last time. If that's the case, I can't wait..."
I look up, scrambling around in a dense fog. I can barely see in front of me, even if I raised my hand it wouldn't clear.
"-where am I," I mumble out to no one.
I slow down, calming myself. I tried to remember where I had been, what was the last thing I remember?
"I remember Brant praising me and then Reg told me to go to sleep... then I'm here... oh, I'm dreaming."
I quickly deduced where I was, in my own head. I didn't really dream much but when I did, I could mostly realise it pretty quickly. Maybe my mind is just wired that way, just another quirk of my weird brain.
'I've been here before...'
I quickly remember another dream like this before. I only experienced it once, that was what my memory was telling me. If I recall, after the dream I had woken up in Stardust Garden just after my fight with the Irregular ape... my level up.
'Is this a sign that I've levelled up again... weird.'
I tried to remember the dream from before but quickly realised that I'd experience it again. So, I continued walking forward through the fog. The fog actually felt a bit thinner than it was from the first time, like my vision had cleared up but I was still lost and unable to make my surroundings.
There was no ground, only more mist as if I was walking on clouds. The sky as well was made of the same foggy substance. Yeah, this was most definitely a dream.
'I don't think I've died. Hopefully Brant and Reg are ok and have managed to escape from that area.'
I begin thinking of what is happening in the real world. I pretty sure this isn't heaven. I've asked Penia, Astrea and Freya what Heaven is like. Penia just said it was a nuisance, Astrea said it was a beautiful paradise while Freya said it was perfect but too perfect, if that was even a thing.
'Maybe I should ask a God, I still struggle to understand girls. How can they describe the same thing so differently.'
Whatever Heaven was really like, I don't think it was this. However, there was a similarity this place shared with the place above the sky.
"Oh... I remember now."
I had reached the destination of my dream, the whole point. My first experience, they were barely coherent, just shadowy figures that over-lapped each other through the pea soupe. I couldn't make out anything. This time though, I had a slightly better look and I now understood.
It was a line of adventurers, loads of them. Weapons and armour stood by them and dressed them. Their backs were facing me but I could tell they were strong, far stronger than me. I had never managed to figure out who they were before but if this dream is not a coincidence and is linked with my level ascension, they can only be one group of people.
They are my goal.
"One day... I'll beat you; I swear it."
I stand straight as I state my determination as I look at the backs of my old family. One day, when I have this dream in the future, it will be them who will be looking at my back and I'll will be the one in front. That is my promise to them.
I wince my eyes as I slowly wake up as the dream fades from my mind, back to the recesses of my head. I barely recall anything as I try and discover my surroundings. Then suddenly my body jolts upwards before landing on something hard.
'What the...?' I think as I open my eyes. My head is resting on some brown leather that was... moving. Wait, is this a person? Am I being carried? That would explain the movement as I look down.
'Yep, those are definitely feet and wow, I'm high up!'
I freeze, thinking whether I should move. I hear voices around me, a mixture of female and male voices. I feel the body carrying me vibrate as a loud, deep voice bounces around the dungeon.
'So I'm still in the dungeon?' I think as I wince slightly at the volume of the person hauling me about. The main question is where is Brant and Reg?
Have we been rescued? If not, then...
"Yo big man, is the kid still slackin' off?"
'Never mind, Brant sounds like we are fine, that's a relief.
"Why don't you ask him yourself."
'...huh?'
Before I knew it, I was lifted up and planted on a firm, broad shoulder. I was wide awake now, looking out in the dungeon. I recognised that we were on floor 19, I couldn't miss it from how high up I was.
I quickly scanned the area. I saw Reg and Brant, who were now looking up at me, both sharing a raised eyebrow expression that was almost judging me, as if they knew I had woken up and not immediately told them.
To avoid there judgy gaze, I looked around, seeing the rest of the bodies that belonged to the voices I had heard.
'2 men, 3 girls... why do those two look weird.'
A man and woman, wearing similar clothes and armour, looked like people I hadn't seen before. Must've been some form of demi-human or just another type of human. At least they weren't monsters and that was enough for me.
"Don't think ya kind hide anything from Uncle Tod, haha!"
I jolt upwards as the shoulder I'm perched on lifts up. I flinch, thinking my head will hit the ceiling.
'Uncle... Tod?'
I decided to save that question for later as the party had now stopped and were all looking up at me.
"Tod, do you mind lowering the lil guy down?" The man at the front said, his ashen grey hair floating just above his blue eyes.
"Why, he's comfortable up here, ain't you?"
This large man is making me slightly uncomfortable with how loud and friendly he was being. I had never met him and he's acting like I'd known him for years. It was a bit unnerving.
"Erm.. Brant?"
"Brat?"
"W-what's going on?"
"Ha, I suppose that is a reasonable question," The man at the front spoke up again. He left the front as the group got closer. The weird looking couple stayed a bit back but I recognised a cat woman and a Prum as well as the two men, as well as Brant and Reg.
"Come on Tod...lower him down... so we can talk."
Why did that cat woman talk like she was about to go to sleep, though I wasn't complaining since she was helping me from this weird situation.
"I get it, don't worry. I ain't gonna hurt him, you know that haha!"
A quietly breathe a sigh of relief as I'm lowered down as the large man puts both his hands under my armpits and plops me down on the ground. I now realise how tall the man is.
I slightly shuffle away as I get closer to Brant and Reg.
"These kind lot 'elped us out of our tricky situation."
Reg explained what had happened since I went back to sleep. How these people, the Hypnos Familia, came at the right time and rescued us. We even managed to rescue some of the gems which was nice.
After the quick explanation, the man who I now knew was the captain bent down and stretched his hand.
"My names Morpheus, it's nice to meet you. Percy, right?"
"Y-yeah... nice to meet you too and t-thank you."
It unnerved me that he knew my name but I'm guessing either Brant or Reg told him, so I don't dwell in it.
"Ooh, some decent manners. That's always pleasant to hear from the younger generation!" Tod boomed out behind me. What is this guy's deal?
However, the cat-girl, who Morpheus said was the vice-captain called Keeley, gave Tod a swift kick. She was quickly becoming my hero.
"You are... being too loud... for him."
The cat woman turned to me. I can't lie, she really reminded of Carla... except the sleepy personality. The green eyes, the black fur. It was almost uncanny, as if I was staring at my younger sister's future.
"How... are you... feeling?" She asked quietly.
"Errh..."
I quickly gave my body a one-over, checking my muscles and my injuries. I felt... alright. Still a bit sore and some of the burns still stung but I didn't think I'd recover this fast. Had Airmid randomly appeared to heal me.
The cat woman, Keeley, smiled as she read my facial expression.
"You have our... healer to thank... for this."
As she was introduced, the prum girl skipped over. She was about the same height as me, maybe even just a bit smaller actually, the same as Lyra.
"Yep, you looked really bad when I first saw you but I managed to do alright. I'd still recommend seeing a professional after you leave the dungeon but you should be good in a few days."
"Oh, th-thank you," I manage to say as I rub my hair and push out a weak smile.
"Can we get movin! Ya can exchange ya talking crap when we are at the safe zone."
The narrowed eye man clearly wasn't the patient type. To be honest, I wanted to get moving. Movement in the dungeon meant less time to talk. I'd deal with that issue on the 18th floor. For now, I stuck close to Brant and Reg as the Hypnos Familia said that they would be doing the fighting as we were still recovering.
'At least the captain and vice-captain seem nice and normal.'
The group finally made it to the 18th floor. It didn't take long and while Perseus offered to help, Morpheus refused it, saying how he should continue to rest and that it wasn't much of an issue.
Percy would find out he was right. The boy was struck at the strength of the party. The matching man and woman were high level 2 and were very skilled with their respective weapons. The prum as well was maybe his level but she wasn't just a healer, blasting out a fireball at a sword stag, turning it to cinders.
It was the three others that impressed. The Vice-captain was slicing through the monsters like she was barely trying. She was clearly a level 3 and was deadly with her twin knives, not matching her sleepy personality.
As for Tod, the Boaz man, he frantically terrified Percy. Laughing like a maniac as his giant spiked club smashed into a wave of monsters. His body seemed more durable than Reg's armour as the man didn't even bother dodging attacks yet he barely had a scratch, only continuing to laugh as he picked up a mad beetle and simply crushed its body like he was breaking a nut.
But that paled to the captain. The ashen haired man walked calmly then vanished. Percy couldn't keep up and then suddenly, 10 monsters were dead. Perseus hadn't seen his spear move; it was mesmerising but scary at the same time.
This was the first time he was really seeing a truly strong adventurer in action. The closest he had seen was when Allen Frommel had tried to kill him and Ottar preventing it but Percy now knew they hadn't even tried.
'So this is a level 4, the step before first-class.'
But now, he was watching the backs of the Hypnos Familia as they walked away from them. They had talked a bit more, wanting some information. Perseus had let Brant and Reg do most of the talking, not knowing how to handle other adventurers, what was a taboo and what was acceptable.
They explained how they were on an expedition and that Keeley had smelt smoke and that's how they had found them. They were heading into Riveria, the town on the 18th floor, to get supplies to continue their expedition.
Seemingly accepting the few answers the men gave, and with the reassurance that they would be fine making their way back up, Morpheus and the rest of them bid the small party goodbye.
"See ya, Percy!" Tod bellowed out as he walked away.
"Geh."
"I could tell ya felt weird around him, don't worry I got a weird vibe from him too," Brant muttered.
"They seemed fine to me. I thought they were a bit friendly for adventurers but I'm just glad they were good enough to help us."
Perseus couldn't argue with Reg's assessment. They had survived our fight and gotten a free ride to the top while being able to bring back some goodies as well.
"I liked the vice-captain. The Prum seemed nice and the captain was very kind."
"... too kind," Brant muttered. I gave him a perplexed look. "From what I've seen in this line of work, no one ain't that kind for no reason. I got weird vibes from him."
"Or maybe ya just a pessimistic old man," Reg said, lightening the mood a little but Percy still took Brant's lesson seriously. He trusted his intuition, agreeing it was right to cautious but in Percy's mind, nothing felt off about the man. He seemed like a normal nice man.
'Maybe because most adventurers are arseholes it seems strange.'
"Tch, can it ya old geezer, ya way to trustin' for someone your age."
"With age comes wisdom."
"Yeah but havin' a good judge of character doesn't, it's something ya are born with and I'm tellin' ya, that guy weirds me out. Nothing good is for free."
Reg simply roles his eyes at his friend's wariness. He understood it, and it wasn't like he thought they were all perfect.
The dwarf agreed with Percy on his assessment on the Prum girl and the captain and vice-captain but as for the other three.
He could feel the two far-eastern members staring at the three newcomers like hawks, as if they were preparing to attack. Maybe they were being cautious of strange adventurers but it felt different than that.
And the big man, Tod. Initially Reg felt like he was just a jolly giant but sometimes it went a bit too far, as if it was he was trying too hard. But when Percy woke up, it dialled up to an 11.
Calling himself Uncle Tod and the way he insisted on carrying the poor lad. Some people liked kids and most of them were good with them. Maybe he was one of them but Percy looked uncomfortable.
'But it ain't like he is a normal kid. I'm probably over-thinking it due to my mind not being fully on.'
Reg sighed, he really needed a good nap and swig of his favourite booze.
"Youngin?"
"Yeah Reg?"
"Do ya think we succeeded?"
It was something Brant and Reg had asked each other. They both agreed that it should be enough but the dwarf wanted their young companion's opinion.
Percy thought for a second but it didn't take long to answer. Something in him just knew.
"Yes, I think we did it."
"Hah, good to hear. Let's get going and claim our reward."
"Fuck that, I'm hitting the hay as soon as I step in my door!" Brant announced, making Percy laugh and Reg slightly scold the man for the vulgar language in front of the 6-year-old.
"Lady Hephaistos, you have a visitor."
The goddess of the forge looked up from her desk. She was dealing with a butt load of paper work and was happy for any distraction. Rubbing her visible red eye, she sat up a bit straighter.
"Send them in," She ordered and soon enough the large oak door opened.
"This is a surprise. It isn't for another week until you come give one of your weapons for inspection."
"Pardon the intrusion, Lady Hephaistos."
Dyregn closed the door behind him, taking of his black work durag, exposing his bold spot through his stringy ginger hair. It was unusual for the dwarf to make a sudden appearance, spending most of his time holed up in his workshop.
"What can I do for you?"
"Well if it ain't an inconvenience, I'd like a status update."
"Oh?" Hephaistos raised her eyebrow. A second surprise in only 10 seconds of the dwarf entering the room. "Have you been in the dungeon. I thought you'd given that up?"
"Ha, so had I. Guess I hadn't completely given up."
"May I ask what got you back down there?"
Reg took a second to think before smiling.
"Can't let all the young'un's hog all the fun. Us older folks sometimes gotta show 'em how it's done."
Hephaistos smiled as she stood up directing the dwarf out of her office and into the room where she performed most of her status updates, getting the dwarf to fill her in.
Brant trudged up the pathway, a large pouch of Valis jingling in his coat pocket. It should be more than enough to warrant an update. The man wasn't bothered about how his current Familia was run; he couldn't give two shits. What he did hate was the horrid smell of sweet wine that filled his nose the moment he stepped onto the Soma Familia's ground.
He remembered when he had come crawling here, begging for some wine to help numb the pain. It took only one sip before he became a slave to the intoxicating nectar of the gods. It took 6 years from his life, having all but given up on life. After deciding to do something about it, he then realised he had to go cold turkey for a whole two weeks, practically sweating the addiction out of him before he could even face this place again.
Brant hated how pathetic he had been but now wasn't the time dwell on the past. He had done enough of that in his drunken stupor and now he only had one purpose here.
"Brant? Barely a visit in 2 years and suddenly two in only a months. I thought you had given up on the adventuring life-style.
"Yeah, well things change."
Brant hated the captain. He was an uptight know it all who thought he was the dogs' bollocks. Now that Brant was fully fit, he was the second strongest member of this Familia, only second to the bastard elf that was running it.
The God Soma had all but abandoned his duties as a patron deity and had let the Familia into the filthy clutches of this depraved elf. The vice-captain was no better. He was only a level 1 but it was clear he was being groomed by the captain to take over at some point, the snobby, speccy little shit, Brant could snap him in half without a second thought if he wanted to.
But Brant didn't have time for that. After this update, he would have nothing to do with this place ever again. He handed the bag full of Valis, watching the elf count it one piece at a time.
"This will be sufficient. It will even cover a small cup of wine if you want, I know how much you enjoy it."
Brant furrowed his brow, knowing the bastard was looking down on him. Whether it was a skill or due to him being an elf, the man wasn't effected like most people were to Soma's wine, allowing him power of the rest of the members that killed for even a sip.
Brant just walked past the man, barging into his shoulder and lowering his hat. He made his way to Soma's quarter's, took of his coat and shirt, exposing his back. Without even a word, Soma slowly understood what was happening and unemotionally performed the update.
I shrunk back a bit as Penia raised her grey eyebrow at me, almost as if she was disapproving. I would expect this from Astrea but not Penia, the old grouch not really being the sentimental and openly caring Goddess.
I internally groaned as I realised how many times I'd have to tell this story. Lady Astrea would undoubtedly be cross with my actions while the Astrea Familia would either follow her or look like a bunch of excited puppies. Either way it would be a lot of questions I don't want to answer.
"Ya didn't tell Hypnos' kids anything, did ya?"
"No, I stayed quiet, letting Brant do most of the talking."
"Good, that man has a good head on his shoulders from what I've gathered."
It seems Penia took a liking to Brant, seemingly agreeing on most things, like their negative outlook on life.
"Anway, turn around. Let's see if ya got what ya went looking for? Oh and don't think I'm helping ya explain this to ya mother."
I groaned once again as I took off my hoodie. I was not looking forward to that either. Part of me was thinking of just not telling her but I had promised. I'd tell her the truth in private before getting permission to tell a nicer take on it for my brothers and sisters, mainly for Jacob as I know he loved hearing about my adventures.
I felt my back get warmer as Penia's divine blood splashed on my back, exposing my Falna. I heard her humming and murmuring a bit before she took her finger off my back.
"Congratulations Reg, you are level 3!"
Brant looked at the sheet of paper that Soma handed him before the God went back to mixing his newest batch, not even caring one of his children had hit level 3.
"Well done Brat! Guess it wasn't for nothing."
I couldn't help but smile. I had felt I'd achieved it but hearing it from Penia made it real, as it was real. Another step closer.
"Ya earned a new skill. No new magic, not that ya need any. As for ya development ability. Ya have two options. One is Fist Strike, which says that it will increase ya punching strength. Sounds pretty good for what ya are doing. The other one is abnormal resistance."
I think about that. Fist strike sounds cool and would obviously help since I mainly do damage with my fists. But I remember how much Brant was forced to do, how little me and Reg could do without it.
I have other ways to increase my punch power, if I was to go on my own into the labyrinth tree, abnormal resistance would be essential.
"Abnormal resistance please,"
"Ya sure, the other one sounds more up your alley?" Penia pushed but I shook my head, knowing this was the right decision.
"Suit ya'self, your choice at the end of the day."
Penia finished off my level-up. I loved the feeling of my status being updated, sending a rush through my body as the power of the Gods flowed through my veins.
I heard the rustling of paper. I had prepared in advance for this and brought a brown sheet of paper for this. I wanted to see what my stats had finished at and what my new skill exactly said.
"Congrats squirt, ya are level 3."
Name: Brant
Age: 28
Lvl: 3
Abnormal Resistance: - H
Swordsman - I
Str: B735 – I0
Def: B701 – I0
Dex: C609 – I0
Agi: D583 – I0
Mag: F304 – I0
Skill:
Sword Flay – User is granted a strength buff when using a bladed weapon
Veritas Burn – High Fire Resistance
Magic:
Chant:
By name and hand, I command you to stop, Force Hand!
Name: Dyregn Sturgart
Age: 56
Lvl: 3
Strong Defence – G
Blacksmith - I
Str: B788 – I0
Def: A809 – I0
Dex: D544 – I0
Agi: E470 – I0
Mag: E435 – I0
Skill:
Now You See Me – All monsters in a certain area will be focused on the user.
Ardigalea – Raises the users defence stats by a large amount and raises resistance against attack magic.
Veritas Burn – High Fire Resistance.
Magic:
Chant:
Make me stand strong and face the flame. Burn away all impurities as I am placed on the Forge. Set my soul ablaze, Ignite!
Explanation – Puts on a fire enchantment on whatever Reg is holding, presumably his shield. If he isn't holding anything, then they warp around his fists like gauntlets.
Name: Perseus
Age: 6
Lvl: 3
Warrior – H
Abnormal Resistance - I
Str: S965 – I0
Def: S945 – I0
Dex: A898 – I0
Agi: S925 – I0
Mag: B789 – I0
Skill:
Stealth – Allows the user to go undetected when out of eye-line. Passive
Pain tolerance – Dulls pain. Activates after a threshold of pain is reached
Chain Attack – Increases the power of attacks delivered continuously.
Magic:
Chant:
- Bestow upon me the strength to beat my foes
- Gift me the power to withstand their attacks
- Absorb their strength and make it my own
END OF ARC 1
And there we go, our boys did it, they levelled up and just in time for Arc 1 to come to a close. As you can probably guess, Arc 2 will mostly consist of the dark days but it won't end there but no spoilers.
This time, Perseus ended his stats at a proper place, getting S ratings that are essential if he is to obtain his goals. Also, the dream will be recurring but I wonder how it will play out each time.
Next chapter, like the first chapter, will a prologue. Not as short, it will still be a first chapter but it will be used to set the stage of what is to come. I've bought the Astrea Records book and will have the danmachi wiki open at all time to get my facts correct but that don't mean we won't be having some fun origial ideas.
Also, the Hypnos Familia is just a small extra addition, just some fun character desigins that I can pick and choose when to add into the story. They won't be as heavily used like the Astrea Familia or Brant but they are there to flesh the world out a bit, ya get me? Cool.
Review time:
JonnyBobothe1st - Top 5, damn I feel honoured, that's a tough spot to occupy. They did snag a few gems thankfully and as for Brant, he ain't wont nothing to do with that shit hole, Percy's enough responsibility for him but who knows what the future holds.
I'm glad the dungeon is coming across as I want it to. I always say how it doesn't feel as dangerous in the canon story, especially in the anime though season 4/volumne 14 did a good job of remedying that. Reg did pull the uno reverse card on the dragon's fire lol and yh, Percy is kinda gonna come to forcefully hurting himself for bonus strength, not a good habit to get into (definetly not an excuse to see Amid more often ;) )
Drake D Zero - I still like Bell as an MC. He is meant to be this shining beacon of light and with enough edge lords around *Cough Kirito *Cough Sung Jin woo* having a hero like him almost feels refreshing but yes sometimes he does have a bit too much MC fortune but tbf, he does go through some shit to deserve at least some reward and I really liked Fels reviving Weine even though her death could've been a proper push but it got us a dope OST so I'll take it. As for Bell overtaking Percy, brother let me tell you the canon story Bell ain't standing a chance in a 1v1 against where Percy will be at that time.
KorviD - I like reading reviews and answering them so it's a win win, yey. As for Percy's future weapons, I've really thought about them and I've got two in mind. They won't be GoW 3 hercules level big, considering Percy ain't like 15ft tall but they ain't gonna be like Bell's knives I'll give ya that. As for his potions, yh he's gonna have to sort that shit out, too much pain could be avoided if he just took better care.
Roland Tepes - Glad you enjoyed it. Yes, a bit more revealing of what happened to Brant. A hatred to Zeus Familia, an injury picked up exactly around the time Percy was born and now it was Hedin, part of the simp squad, who injured him. Hmmmmmmmmm. And I'm doing fine, Uni is only 2 weeks way from being done and this is a way of de-stressing.
HyunCha004 - *High fives raised hands* ya love to see it.
ARK786 - I can't wait to forget the fight and re-read it again and damn, did you think I was brutal enough to kill off our fluffy dwarf and the adorable tsundere, even after raising some notable death flags.
Yeah, the third line is similar to Tiona's berserk, to be honest you have just made realise the connection icl.
What Level Perseus will be at canon time, higher than current Bell is all I will say. Who knows what the dark days will do to him and how Zald and especially Alfia will impact him. As for how he will impact the Great Feud, I haven't full figured it out. Some things are set in stone, some people will be saved and some will not but my writing style is very free and I come up with new things all the time. Example would be the Minotuar horde for the last chapter of the middle floors. I was just planning the fight but then I wanted to use the magic and it kind of happened so I don't even know the true impact that Percy will have. How much can one child have on an entire city?
As for killing, it was said the Great Feud was kill or be killed. It's up to Percy whether he decides to rise above it, escpecially if they come after his family.
I have thought of a whole lot of fun thngs regarding the twins looking alike, swapping places for a day with hair dye and some sunglasses, all that stuff.
No, no harem but I do like Ardee, she is cute and funny. Hopefully a good friend for our boy *Flips to end of book 2*... oh damn.
Anyway, that is all I have time for. Thanks for reading, I'll see ya next time, Peace!