Time to dig in.
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/Around the time Silver met with Takemikazuchi.../
'Somewhere in Daedalus street...'
"Tsk."
"Not here either. They've completely evacuated." Hermes said as he looked around
'He was currently inside a large underground room filled with empty boxes and broken things scattered around the place...'
'As if someone had left in a hurry.'
'As he pushed a box to the side with his foot, a blue-haired girl approached him from the side:'
"It seems the Ikelos Familia has completely given up on its previous plans and has now holed up somewhere."
"Well, that is to be expected..." Hermes said as his eyes sharpened
Or so they want you to think...
Ever since the Ishtar Familia lost its influence due to a certain someone's actions, many dark forces started to make moves, trying to use this slight chaos to profit.
Including the Ishtar Familia, likely trying to recover what they lost.
Although their actions will have to be analyzed at some other time.
Above them all was the Ikelos Familia, who were planning on taking over a large chunk of the black market all at once, making use of the chaos to become the top dog.
If it wasn't for the recent events, putting them back into the limelight after years of hiding in the shadows, they might've succeeded...
And even upon learning of this, I thought they were reckless given their past Familia records, but the recent information I got proves that I had severely underestimated them...
'Hermes pulled his hat down with a small smile.'
Several Level 4's and one Level 5. That was much more than I expected...
If things had gone bad, everyone might've...
'Hermes looked at his children, before shaking his head with serene eyes.'
"Looks like I owe a favor to him." He said as he flickered his hat
I'll be meeting with him soon enough.
"There is only one thing I'm worried though." Asfi said on the side as she looked around
"Yeah... Despite the Ikelos Familia retreating, their plans seem to have not stopped at all, or someone has taken their place." Hermes replied with a frown
Despite their retreating upon losing most of their combatants, leaving only their production workers and lower-level members to be captured by us, their plans are still in motion.
Someone sneaked into the camp and retrieved the Ikelos Familia Captain while killing all of the other captives before the Ganesha Familia arrived to escort them to the surface.
Even when I sent Asfi and the others there, the traces just seemingly disappeared out of nowhere...
Could it be that the Ikelos Familia has a stronger force hidden somewhere? That wouldn't make sense...
Their Captain was captured, and I've yet to meet with that Ikelos bastard.
Someone is keeping their plains in motion...
But who is it? Who is enacting their old plans? Who could take over their mantle?
"This is the worst situation." Hermes said as he started to walk
"How so?"
"It seems the Ikelos Familia has a backer or an accomplice... And a pretty nasty one at that."
"Someone that wouldn't be afraid of clashing with everyone from the dark side..."
And the Guild at the same time.
Worse, they seem quite capable.
'Asfi was surprised.'
"Is there anyone in Orario that can do such a thing?"
"Of course there is, but the question isn't that, the question is who would have the interest of doing such a thing." Hermes replied as he walked a set of stairs, Asfi right behind him
"I have several suspects, and despite me not considering them to be the true target, I'll make sure to confirm their alibis, one by one."
It's the most I can do right now since the traces have disappeared.
Of course, keeping tight monitoring on Daedalus street is of utmost importance as it's definitely the center of all of these troubles.
But I've been wondering who should be the ones assigned to this task...
"There is also the possibility of it being a force from the outside, trying to take over a small part of Orario, it's not like this is the first time something like this has happened."
Regardless, the chances of the target being within Orario are almost 100%.
To react this fast, their chain of command has to be within the city... Somewhere.
After all, someone has to have built these places, the Ikelos Familia alone wouldn't have managed to do so on their own.
These mazes that flow beneath...
But it's not my job to explore those right now, I won't have my children risk themselves to such a degree.
"..."
The pieces are starting to fall into place, but more questions keep popping up.
'Hermes suddenly had an idea.'
"Urg..." Asfi grunted as she saw Hermes smile
When he smiles like that, only trouble follows...
And work.
A lot of work...
"Looks like I'll have quite a few things to talk with him later." Hermes said with a small smile
"Are you meeting someone?" Asfi asked
"Yes, I'll be..."
'Hermes then realized his mistake.'
"It's a secret." He said awkwardly
If Asfi realizes I'll be meeting with a Goddess of beauty she'll drop all work...
I can't let that happen! There's too much to do!
'Asfi frowned a little, but she shook her head.'
'She kept following Hermes around as they investigated the abandoned outposts of the Ikelos Familia.'
...
/Later that day…/
'Silver quietly left the Hearth Manor, thinking as he yawned.'
It was fun… And a bit overly emotional.
"I would've liked to stay there for a bit longer, but I have things to do."
I have yet to go to the Dungeon, and later, I'll be meeting with Hermes to test that out.
'Silver turned around, gazing at the Manor.'
With this, Haruhime should fully recover from her trauma, even if it takes a few more months, she has taken her first step toward recovery.
However… There isn't only good news about this.
Now that more people know, the risk of exposure increases significantly.
And I'm nowhere near the level of strength I would've liked…
No matter how I choose to settle this matter, one day, sooner or later, I'll have to clash with Ishtar.
I don't want to rely on Haruhime to finish her off, I wish to do it with my own strength…
No matter how hypocritical that may seem, deeming the entire speech I gave her about her being needed and stepping up for herself.
"To defeat a Top Level 5…"
I'll have to reach at the very minimum the high ends of Level 3, perhaps even take the next step.
And this is only if I wish to equate my strength with hers.
My other Stats would likely surpass her's but the Level difference would make up for it.
Considering what I read from the Status sheet I stole from Ishtar, her entire being is perfect to fight against me.
Extremely high Magic and Abnormal status resistance, given the difference in Level, the only way I would be able to deal with her would be via a direct physical fight as my Plasmids would have little to no effect on her.
Despite my incredible Magic Value, I cannot compare myself with the top mages of Orario, the people who would've been able to deal damage to her.
The more I go on, the more I know things aren't in my favor, especially when we consider that, if we do clash, she'll have many supporting her...
Terrain advantage, resources, and who knows what that Goddess will cook up if she's given time.
And her equipment, of course, it'll surely be top Class.
Ideally, if I could Level up to 4, I would be able to deal with her on my own.
I could even...
'But SIlver stopped, shaking his head.'
"I've had this train of thought many times recently…" Silver said with a helpless smile
No matter what, time will always be the problem.
But it's not like I'm not working hard.
On the surface I have Takemikazuchi to help me train, now that I successfully established a relationship with him.
Visiting him every once in a while to train won't be a problem at all.
Now that my Familia has contacted his, they'll likely start working together and hopefully, grow stronger together.
In the Dungeon I have the Xenos, just like Take's Familia, they've started to strive towards strength, and I'll make sure to be there when they do get it.
Training with them every day, although I probably won't Level up by fighting them, the last thing that I lack is a suitable partner to just try my best.
The Loki Familia is a good partner to train, but they're a busy bunch, from a period of 2 months, they spend one in the Dungeon, 1-3 weeks preparing for the expedition, and the little they have left is spent resting.
I could try to tag along on their ventures to the Lower floors, but that wouldn't cut it.
I would instead lose time, money, and Exelia.
The only way for our partnership to work would be if I showed them my ability to move floors quickly, in that case, I could have them carry me through the Deep floors and below...
A place where I can definitely be right now, but the chances of me dying in the process are very high, so having a proper team would be rather interesting.
But this option has its own problems...
I could also simply continue diving further as the Lower floors have a steep increase in difficulty as compared to the Middle floors, and soloing those floors will likely increase my stats even further at an even more explosive speed.
"Once I'm done with this matter… I'll start exploring them." Silver said with a nod
This can also be seen as a foothold for the future.
Every Exploration type Familia that reaches D rank will be requested to go on an Expedition by the Guild, that is a fact.
And always, they'll set the target to be the Lower floors, so this can be considered scouting.
I'll probably bring some members there beforehand so they get used to it, but that is up to the far future.
I should wait until we get a few more Level 2's and hopefully, a Level 3 before I start doing that.
"Phew..."
"My main motivation to explore the Lower floors is money though…" Silver mumbled awkwardly as he scratched his head
Just as the difficulty increases, the price of things skyrockets.
An example of that is... There is a common metal that can only be found on the Lower floors called Under Coral.
(Image?)
It's just one of the many exclusive things of the Dungeon, there are many such things...
They grow in branches like dead twigs but are much stronger and lighter than steel.
One entire sample of Under Coral can be sold for upwards of 3 Million Valis depending on its quality, depending on how you haggle, you can get a profit of around 2.5 to 3.5 Million Valis.
They are rather common, but normally, adventurers don't have the time nor the ability to collect them since they grow near violent waterways, so it can be difficult and extremely risky to harvest them…
Monsters can burst out of the rivers, walls, and ceilings at any time... So most adventurers would be too wary of their surroundings to have the time to harvest them.
At most one or two bushes of Under Coral if it's on the way.
Not for me though.
"I could go on and on, like saying that in the Lower floors, Adamatite veins become that more common... Albeit still a bit rare."
And pure, purity is what makes the value of Adamantite soar.
"In any case, that's all for the future, for now, I'll simply do my daily training as I wait for Hermes." He said as he walked down the street
'Not long after, he made a sharp turn, getting inside a dark alley where he vanished like the wind.'
…
/At the same time bellow Orario…/
/Smash!/
A pink-haired girl punched a stone pillar in anger, cracking it slightly.
"Give me a break, first Ishtar, now that dumbass lost an arm." Vallette said with a smile as she looked at a man clad in dark clothes
/Chuckles.../
"It wasn't all for naught though as despite their losses, the Ikelos Familia got a new Level 5 into their Ranks…"
"What remains of it of course, as they lost almost all of their warriors yesterday." Thanatos replied calmly
"How ironic… One Leveled up while the other one was sliced up…" She said in annoyance
"As for Dix... He can't even do something so simple like getting stronger despite the beating he received…"
Unless... He's keeping something from me.
Perhaps I should do a little digging, push that beggar-like God around a little.
"Perhaps I should've saved the other Level 4's, maybe one of them might've had Leveled up." She said in deep thought
"It was… A desperate situation, retrieving them all was impossible… Not peacefully of course." Thanatos replied
"Tsk, I know that man." She said as she turned around
Such a waste though, killing them was no fun...
It isn't the same when they don't struggle.
"The situation is getting too chaotic for me to properly predict things… I can't say I dislike this though." She said as she fixed her hair
There is a certain order in chaos, and moving around in flames is what I'm best at.
"First it's that bitch doing things she wasn't asked to do, and then changing her entire plans, causing me one hell of a workload."
"And now this, fucking great."
"We lost a bunch of losers but got a new decent pawn… And now Dix will likely be full of revenge and anger in his head…"
'She smiled, showing all of her teeth.'
"That'll make his actions that much predictable…"
"If the price to get all of this were those weaklings from Ikelo's side, then so be it, I'll do it all over again…"
But at the center of all of this...
It's that kid, the one that became famous for a little while.
"The Miracle Boy of Hestia... I'll keep an eye on him."
'With that line, Valletta left the room, leaving only Thanatos in the darkness with his thoughts.'
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Notes