{The morning after... exactly 5 AM... according to the clocks in the house... 18th of March...}
Dinah, dressed in a different crop top and shorts, the same black fishnet leggings; but recently washed, the same pair of fingerless leather gloves, and in her same pair of black leather combat boots, was pacing in front of her new students.
Dinah, Lianne, and Faith were in the front courtyard, while Panacea had Conner in her lap and was watching them from the porch steps.
Lianne, the 10 year old, hume bunny girl, was dressed in a black t-shirt, brown shorts, and her leather sandals; and was looking determined and excited.
Faith, on the other hand, was dressed in a white t-shirt; with red crosses all over it, black shorts, and the same leather sandals.
Dinah could see the tensed up muscles, small bags under her eyes, and the slight turn of the blond half-elf's lips; which was an almost imperceptible frown.
As she paced, Dinah began their training by giving them both words of warning as well as the first nugget of advice that her new students will need.
"Out here, I'm your sensei; which means teacher. I want you two to listen and retain what I'll be teaching you. You've asked for my help, then I'll give it to you. I'm going to whip you two up into shape. Prepare to be worked harder than you've ever worked in your lives."
She then stopped in front of them and looked into their eyes before she continued her spiel in a calm, teacher's tone of voice while her blue eyes were shining with a hidden glint that made Lianne and Faith tense up. They felt a slight shiver go up their spines at the look that Dinah was giving them.
"Before I teach you two anything, I need to help you two build up your foundations. A strong body, as well as a strong mind will help you in the path I'll be guiding you two towards. And that path, is to the world of Martial Arts."
With that said, Dinah sat down on the grass and she gestured for the two to do the same. The grass felt cold, but Dinah ignored it without any problems. She waited for a few more seconds, before she continued her lesson.
"Martial Arts were originally invented to help the weak defend themselves from the strong. Most people who are born with power, eventually get corrupted by it. And absolute power corrupts absolutely. Life is not about power, money, or just surviving day to day in an endless cycle. Life is about truly living every day to the fullest and achieving what you've decided to attain with your own efforts while remembering your humble beginnings. Do not forget where you come from. Life will tend to want to uproot you from your path, but if you remember where you began, then you'll eventually find your way back from where you veered off. What I'm trying to say is that, you're never truly lost..."
With her peace said, Dinah stood up and backed away while gesturing for them to stay seated. She cleared her throat for a bit while looking off to the side, before she shifted her gaze back towards them.
"Now, I'm going to show you two a few workout exercises that I want you to perform to the best of your abilities. Don't hurt yourselves when performing them, but I do want you to do your best at it. Doing any exercise without using proper form will hinder your progress in your training. So make sure to watch me closely..."
Dinah performed some basic push ups, sit ups; with Faith holding her legs down, jumping jacks, planks, and squats. She explained each workout, their benefits, and how to perform them optimally.
After her demonstration, she had them perform each one as much as they could without losing form. As soon as they lost proper form, she stopped them, had them take a breather, and then she had them continue.
For 30 minutes, Faith and Lianne worked out like this. The half-elf and the bunny girl would've been more irritated at their new sensei, as they got further and further fatigued, sweaty, and their body started aching all over, but Dinah worked out alongside them. She outperformed them, but she didn't hold it over them. She was encouraging, patient, and helpful towards them.
When Dinah saw that they couldn't take anymore, she stopped them, had them rest up on the grass, and she had them quench their thirst with cold water from a couple of leather water skins.
As they rested for a little while, Panacea watched them with pride. 'I'm glad I was able to transfer cold water into those water skins from Dinah's never ending water bottle. We're slowly stocking extra pots of drinkable water thanks to that marvel of magic.'
As Dinah watched her new students rest, she tried not to show how slightly impressed she was at their performance. Lianne performed 20 textbook perfect push ups, 23 sit ups, held the plank position for 57 seconds maximum, but she definitely shined when she had to do some jumping jacks and squats. The silver-haired bunny girl was able to do 213 jumping jacks and 179 squats. Those numbers surprised Dinah, but then again, she's not exactly in her old world anymore. And Lianne is a part of the Demi-Human race of Hume Bunnies; which are Humans that are part Bunnies. 'Lianne, being a Hume Bunny, might have given her legs and feet that are stronger than a human's. Plus, she has the grace of Panacea. I haven't actually trained anyone that has Falna before, until now. She's only 10 years old, yet her numbers are already like this. Impressive...'
She gave them a thumbs up; which they returned, while they were enjoying the refreshing and cool morning breeze which carried an interesting scent. The smell of the crisp air was both minty and delicious. 'It's probably from that bakery around the corner.'
Compared to Lianne, Faith performed better in some areas. However, just like Lianne, Faith performed beyond Dinah's estimates. The blond half-elf performed 67 push ups, 43 sit ups, she held the plank position for 111 seconds maximum, 78 jumping jacks, and 94 squats. 'Faith is a Half-Elf. Literally half Human and half Elf. I don't know all that much about how an Elf's unique body type works, but if I had to hazard a guess, then they would be known for their skills in Magic. But if a race known for it's Magic makes up half of the blood that runs in Faith's veins, then I'm not just looking at the next Zatanna or Batwoman. Faith..., the Combat Healer... hmm...'
Before she could get further lost in her own thoughts, Lianne broke her away from her pondering and gained her attention.
"Ummm... Big sis Sensei, are you alright?
Dinah shook her head slightly and refocused back into reality, before answering her student's inquiry while she sat down on the ground with them.
"Yeah, I'm alright. Just getting lost in my own thoughts about your performances.", she answered while waving her hand back and forth nonchalantly.
"Hmmm..., I am curious how you thought we did, sensei...", Faith said airily.
"Well, you two performed better than I thought you would. This is just the start, but I have a pretty good feeling about you two. And I'm excited to see how strong you two can get.", Dinah said with a smile.
"Now that you two are warmed up, I'll be slowly building two different foundations for the both of you that I think will help you on your path."
Dinah turned towards Lianne and she gave the cute bunny-eared girl her undivided attention. "Now Lianne, what do you want to be? And what do you want to do in the future?"
Lianne looked at Dinah with a thoughtful gleam in her bronze colored eyes, before an adorably determined look appeared on her face. "I want to be just like big sis sensei. I want to be strong enough to protect you and everyone in our family.", after having said her declaration, she proudly puffed up her chest while trying to make herself look bigger; her small bunny ears twitching up in attention.
Her words brought smiles to the three women's faces as they looked at the girl fondly.
"That is a very good goal. I'll do my best to help you achieve it."
Dinah turned her smiling face to Faith who looked back at her with a small smile of her own. The Canary slowly shifted her expression into a calm and encouraging one, before she continued her query. "Now Faith, how about you? What is your goal? And what do you hope to achieve?"
The Half-Elf's small smile turned neutral and then she closed her eyes, before opening them again after a few short moments passed. *Sigh* Faith released a small exhale of breath, before she gave Dinah a marginally bigger smile. "I want to keep everyone in our Familia safe, happy, and healthy. I like being a Healer, but besides earning Valis, the primary reason as to why I became a Healer... was because I don't want anyone getting hurt. I became a Healer, so that just in case someone in our Familia gets injured, then I'd be there to help patch them up. Our Familia's health and happiness is my ultimate hope and my goal."
Those words brought a warmth fluttering to Dinah's chest, and Panacea had to hold back her tears while she held Conner closer to her bosom. Lianne promptly tackled Faith into a hug and buried her face into the half-elf's chest.
This sweet moment lasted for a little while longer until everyone calmed down.
Dinah did notice that Lianne; whom was sporting a very big grin, was sitting a little bit closer to Faith; who was blushing slightly at her little sister's overwhelming affection.
Dinah still held her warm smile while she spoke to her two students.
([She didn't know it yet at the time, but these two were slowly but surely working their way into her heart. These two would be the first ones that Dinah would truly call her sisters. In her heart, she was slowly accepting her new Familia and seeing them as her family. Panacea; the Goddess of Cures and Universal Medicine, was slowly becoming a mother to her. It'll just take her a little bit of time to find this out for herself.])
"Now that, is a very great goal to work towards, Faith. I've listened to both of your goals and I'm going to do my very best to help both of you reach them."
After a slight pause, she continued by highlighting her plan. "This early morning workout will become a daily thing for us. I'm going to introduce you two to all sorts of exercises that will help you two into building a solid base for your training. There are numerous weapons out there in the world, but the weapons that you can always count on are your mind, your body, and your fighting spirit. I'll be teaching you tactics, strategies, and I'll be helping you two to expand your way of thinking. I'll be helping you breakdown and improve your bodies. A house can't be built in a single day. As each day passes, you'll notice small improvements. As for your fighting spirit, I'll be helping you cultivate it through your courage, determination, and your refusal to back down from your struggles."
Dinah slowly stood up, and then she gestured for the both of them to do the same. "Now then, I'll be showing you two a few basic stances. I'm going to pound these stances into your bodies until your muscles memorize them. After that, the basics of how to punch, kick, and how to fall..."
As Sensei Dinah was teaching her new students, Panacea watched them with a smile of happiness. Conner was currently napping against her bosom, so she had the opportunity to pay attention to their training with 100% of her focus. Her Songbird was in her natural state and she looks like she's enjoying teaching Faith, and Lianne. 'I'm glad not a lot of people walk by our home, but there's got to be a better place for my children to train and grow stronger away from prying eyes. Hmmm... I'll need to ask Faith if we can renovate a part of the basement to become a sort of hidden underground workout area or something...'
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{After a great amount of time training... 9 AM...}
The 1st day of training went off without a hitch. Faith and Lianne soaked up Dinah's teachings like a sponge and they celebrated the end of morning training with a shower and a hearty breakfast.
Faith and Lianne were in high spirits, even though they were aching all over, but it was the good kind of aches and pains, so they didn't really mind it.
After the daily Familia send off at the front courtyard, and everyone wishing Dinah to stay safe and come back in one piece, they all went off to do their tasks for the day. Whether it was going to the Tower of Babel and working at the Medical Ward, making potions, studying different subjects at home, watching their younger siblings, or performing other tasks, everyone always showed up in time for dinner and ate together as one big happy family. Dinah wasn't about to break tradition, so she promised everyone that she'll be home on time for dinner.
Before she headed for the Guild, Dinah was given a good piece of advice and an important item that belonged to her Familia Captain.
"Dinah, before you go into the dungeon, buy a dagger and strap it to your back. You don't have to use it, but a lot of questions will come about if a new Level 1 Adventurer goes down into the dungeon's depths without a weapon on their person. And here,-", Faith reached into her pocket and took out an old, battered, but well cared for bronze pocket watch on a silver chain. "-this is one of my most treasured items... It'll help you keep track of time down there."
"Faith, I couldn't possi-", before Dinah could say anymore, Faith shoved the pocket watch into Dinah's satchel and slowly backed away.
"Make sure to come back and return it to me.", the half-elf said with finality, before she turned around and left with her Familia entourage to the Tower of Babel.
Dinah watched her walk away with a small smile, before she took out the pocket watch and confirmed the time. {9:25 AM} She then put it back into her satchel and walked towards her Goddess.
Besides Dinah, Panacea, and Conner, everyone else already left the courtyard. Dinah walked towards her misty-eyed Goddess and gave her and Conner a hug. She kissed her baby bird's forehead and then she looked into Panacea's amazing spring green eyes. "I'll be back before dinner. I promise."
Panacea nodded to her with a wavering smile, before she said, "Stay safe, Songbird. Dinner's at 8. Be on time for it, alright?"
"You've got it, mom.", Dinah replied reflexively. When she realized what she just said and saw Panacea's expression morph into a much more happier one, Dinah just smiled back and slowly walked away. She raised her right hand and waved it while she headed to the Guild, leaving behind Panacea; with Conner in her hands. The Goddess of Cures was slowly crying in joy, her tears falling down her fair-skinned cheeks.
'She called me, mom...', she thought happily.
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{After 30 minutes or so...}
On her way to the Guild, Dinah bought a very cheap, old, and used dagger with a sheath and a leather strap. The 50 Valis she spent on it made sense when she inspected the rusty, scratched up, and slightly dented steel blade.
It took a minute or so of fixing up, but she attached it without too much fuss to her back via her brown belt that she always wears. She made sure the grip of the blade was to her right, so it looks as if she fights using her right hand; with the practically useless weapon.
As she entered the halls of the Guild once again, it was around {10:03 AM} and she made a beeline towards Henrietta.
Thankfully, her Official Guild Advisor was already done with her current customer and there wasn't a line in front of her desk.
When Dinah approached, Henrietta swept her gaze over the blond's form with a slight nod. "Welcome back, Ms. Lance. It's nice to see you again.", greeted the red-haired woman with a neutral expression on her face.
"It's nice to see you too, Henrietta.", she replied calmly.
"Now then, what do you know about the first floors of the dungeon?", asked Henrietta, heading straight towards business without wasting a single moment.
And so; with her journal and pen in hand, Dinah told her about the monsters she's read about, the basic layout of the floors, the drop items, the spawn rates, and other tidbits and pieces of info that she read about and took note of.
When she finished, Henrietta nodded approvingly at the knowledge that Dinah accumulated, but she was promptly reminded why Henrietta was the Guild Advisor. "You've got the proper information of the monsters' descriptions, known weak spots, and the drop items correct from floors 1 through 9. You've also got the basic layout of those aforementioned floors memorized. However, let me educate you on what you missed. The spawn rates can't be measured. That is a sad fact that all Adventurers must remember. The dungeon can't summon another monster from a recently damaged wall, floor, and ceiling, but it'll slowly regenerate. It's a sentient thing, that dungeon. It'll set up traps, choke points, and it'll keep on summoning monsters."
*Sigh* "And it's supposedly rare, but there's no supposedly about this important fact that you must consider. Monsters from the deeper floors have gone up to other floors before. And it can happen at any time. So be ever vigilant. Now, there are monster variants, monster parties, monster pantries, and pass parades that you'll have to worry about. The monsters that we know of could sometimes evolve and become stronger variants due to numerous circumstances or situations that we barely understand. I'd rather not give you rumors and gossip about monster variants, because that type of information could get you killed. So just watch out for them. However, what I can confirm, is that they'll be stronger, faster, and all around better than their normal counterparts. Certain areas in the dungeon can trigger monster parties; in which a mass summoning of monsters happen all at once. Be wary of those. A goblin might not pose much of a threat, but 50 goblins can ruin anyone's day. Monster pantries are where monsters go to feed. So unless you have a death wish, or you need something from there; which I hope you don't, then don't even take a single step closer to any of those feeding grounds. And now, pass parades... this is when an Adventurer or a group of them kite and lead pursuing monsters towards other Adventurers. This is heavily frowned upon and perpetrators of such heinous acts are fined, stripped of their equipment, and are persecuted to the fullest extent of the law. However, it's hard to convict anyone when the witnesses to said crimes are dungeon food. So be extra careful and wary of others..."
With a few second's pause, Henrietta looked even more deeply into Dinah's gorgeous blue eyes with her own brown, before she continued her spiel. "Not all people are good people. It makes double for Adventurers. In my opinion, for every one good Adventurer out there, there are four bad eggs. Don't just watch out for the dungeons' inhabitants, look out for the visitors too."
Henrietta paused once again, took a sip of water, and then she slumped down a little on her desk. "There are certain protocols one must follow as well as Adventurer and dungeon etiquette that must not be ignored. When there are other Adventurers in the area already, then go somewhere else. Don't kill steal. Don't steal loot. However, if there's a sudden monster party that appears, then working together will help everyone survive. And... when you find someone's dead body, please remember their basic features... It's only right that their Familia finds out. It's advised to cut out their Familia insignia that's on some of their clothes as proof of the find. Some would prefer the body brought up, but there's not a lot of people who'd want to bring someone's corpse out of the dungeon. Please respect the dead. And do what you can, when you can, but ultimately, you should keep yourself safe."
*Sigh* "Talking about this stuff is heavy and depressing, but I have to inform every new Adventurer, so excuse me for the pauses. Now, I think that's all you should be aware of going forward. I expect you to stay within the first 4 floors. It looks like you're going solo, so please be careful. Keep your wits about you, stay alive, and don't die. Come back here at your earliest convenience, once you're done down there. I'd like to be the first to know whether you survived or not."
"Thank you, Henrietta, for all this.", Dinah replied with a slight bow, before returning her journal and pen to her satchel. It was a good thing that she could write fast, since she was able to jot down all of Henrietta's detailed information about the dungeon.
"I'll make sure to come back without fail. You have my word."
With her peace said, Dinah gave Henrietta a small smile of gratitude that the tanned, redheaded woman returned with a slight smile of her own. In her own thoughts, the redhead couldn't help but hope..., 'Let's hope my hunch was spot on. Come back safe, Ms. Lance.'