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/Around a minute or two after the explosion in the sky.../
'Two platinum eyes opened in the dark.'
/GASP!/
/COUGH!/
"HAA…"
I think I swallowed dust…
'Silver finally woke up after his final strike against the Tyrant, his skin tingling, his muscles aching, his head pulsating with pain...'
'Everything hurt, even his mind.'
"Where am I?..."
'He was somewhere rather uncomfortable, the best way he could describe this was that this was akin to the feeling of being buried in sand, albeit, whatever surrounded him was much lighter than that.'
'It was soft to the touch, and it was rather nostalgic... Yes, he had seen and felt this many times before.'
"..."
I can't breathe very well…
If I try to remember…
'Memories of a pillar of fire burning his face and skin passed through his mind...'
I took the fire head-on and… Cleaved it.
Then... I hit its face...
Yeah, I remember killing it, but overtaken by fatigue…
After that… I think I lost consciousness for a moment?
"..."
Alright, I know what happened now.
"Urg…"
'Pain suddenly flared, stinging his body.'
Everything hurts…
I have almost no energy left… But I can't leave myself like this.
'Using the little he had left, Silver opened his pocket space taking out several potions at once, laying them on his chest, drinking them one at a time even if it meant consuming a portion of this ash.'
'He needed to recover, and he had no time to make it pretty.'
/Gulp.../
"Urg... Again..."
/Gulp.../
Damn ash...
'Once he was done, having a bit more energy to move, and feeling the warm feeling on his stomach, he created a small bubble for himself, finally being able to properly open his eyes and stretch his body without the risk of more ash falling somewhere it wasn't supposed to.'
/Lit…/
'A small fire lit on the top of his finger, illuminating his surroundings.'
"..."
Is that…
'The first thing he noticed was the large colorful stone beneath his feet, the thing he was laying on top of, the very thing that was pressing onto his back, causing him severe discomfort.'
'It was without a doubt, the Tyrant's magic stone.'
'It was a bit bigger than normal, being around the size of a standard pillow, and a bit shorter than his legs in terms of length.'
'It was about the size of a teen Pallum...'
'Even so, it was already massive, as most monsters on this floor left behind magic stones the size of his fist if not smaller, around the size of a finger.'
'This was to show how special the Tyrant is, and it can be considered the Monster Rex of these floors, like how the Infant Dragon is on the Upper floors.'
"Time to work."
I need to get my shit together.
'First, since he was still weak and it would take a while for him to recover, he decided to stay hidden inside the ash to avoid any potential monsters, making a small hole to the surface so air could flow inside.'
'It was unlikely for the Dungeon to spawn more monsters due to the severe destruction all around, but that didn't mean those already existing ones wouldn't appear.'
'Leaving through teleportation was an option he considered, but he wanted to be in this area as long as possible... Because all around him where tens of Millions of Valis worth of loot.'
'Where he capable of collecting it all, processing it, he might even be able to order something from Hephaestus again... Though if she would accept it or not, that is another problem...'
'So until he had at least a bit more energy, he would stay like this.'
"Ouch... Ouch... It stings... Shit, this is... Urg..."
'Holding himself back to not scratch his healing wounds, Silver had to bite a small piece of cloth...'
/Crack!/
'After that, he started to cover his wounds, he had many internal fractures and ruptures, and he even had to pull a few bones back into position.'
'Normal potions wouldn't heal it, and if he were to leave them alone, they would end up causing more harm than good.'
'His skin was a deplorable sight to behold with scars, cuts, burns, and more.'
'He knew it wouldn't be possible to heal everything now, but healing them to the point he could fight again should be possible.'
"Each one of these wounds costs 10K Valis... Some of the better ones cost 100K..."
I'm literally washing with money right now...
But it's worth it.
The resources I spend on potions increase up to a certain point, but the value of the items that come from the Dungeon is ever-increasing.
An Elixir will always have the same effects, but one day, the price of a normal magic stone from a deep-floor monster will likely cover a substantial amount of the price.
'Most importantly…'
/Fuom…/
'Silver took out his right arm, it was still riddled with wounds, but at the very least, it seemed recoverable now and not a chunk of charcoal like it was before…'
"The feeling of seeing your own arm like this... Is not pleasant at all..."
'Taking out several objects from his inventory, he injected the arm with all sorts of weird substances before letting out a sigh.'
"Hope they work."
I've thought about this after using many potions throughout my journey as an adventurer.
Consumption and direct application in the injured area are two of the only three methods used when confronted with a wound, the last one being through Magic.
But what about direct interveinal injections?
Of course, potions weren't meant to be injected, so I had to ask Miach for help as I didn't have time to study the viability of that…
And he did as I asked, modifying most of the common forms of health potions into ones that could be injected, at a cost, of course, you can at most inject a Fifth of a potion every 10 minutes or so in order to give time so your body can properly absorb its contents and not increase the pressure inside your veins...
Amidst many other complications, a potion is a mixture of many complicated herbs, you wouldn't want to apply it inside your veins that much...
But that won't be too much of a problem to me right now since this arm isn't really connected to anything, I'm the one controlling its circulation...
Injections don't really improve the healing power of the potions anyway.
To be honest, they do work faster and their efficiency is better as the potions are already traveling within the bloodstream instead of it is being first absorbed by the skin or the stomach tissues.
Still, I won't abuse something that hasn't been properly tested and studied yet.
"Anyway… Time to put you back together…"
/Cut!/
'Silver's finger became akin to a razor blade as he removed the layer of skin that grew on his shoulder and his amputated arm, he needed the flesh to be exposed so the two could attach again.'
/Wriggle…/
'Like a can of worms, his veins started to protrude out of his wound, connecting with the ones in the arm…'
'Once they all connected, Silver pulled the arm back in place slowly and washed the wound with a potent healing potion as his entire arm glowed green.'
'Multiple forms of healing on top of each other for maximum efficiency and to ensure no problems occurred during the process.'
...
/Grip…/
'Soon enough, his arm was back in action, his grip was still a little weak and stiff, but his arm was back and that was what mattered.'
'The reason why he didn't feel pain was due to him reducing his sense of pain and touch, effectively numbing himself.'
'He wanted to do it before to reduce his torture with the scratching was that he wanted to make sure his entire body was healing properly.'
'Now that the problem was only his arm, paying attention to it wasn't a problem, something he could do much easier if he wasn't feeling any pain.'
/Poof…/
'Silver let his face fall onto the ash as he closed his eyes.'
"What a day…"
The Tyrant was an interesting foe, by defeating it, I have proven that unless a unique type of adventurer appears, I have already stepped onto the realm of First Class!
"Early first Class adventurers should be manageable if not easy for me to deal with."
Much less when I receive my Status update.
"But Phryne was also one such case... When she became Level 5, she was stronger than others."
"And now she's Level 6..."
This is not enough... Not enough for me to feel safe.
If we go by her Status, I already surpass her in some areas, but fighting her would still be a chalenge.
Once I recover… I'll go to the Deep floors…
'Silver took a deep breath as he resisted the urge to scratch his body.'
Thinking about it... The Loki Familia's Expedition should still be in the Dungeon.
I think they passed through these floors just a few days ago, so I should still have some time to see their fight against the Amphisbaena.
How strong is it in comparison to this T-Rex?
Probably a lot stronger, but I want to see it with my own eyes.
...
'A minute passed with Silver letting the potions work their wonders… And he suddenly opened his eyes.'
"Someone's here."
Several steps... Heavy sounds...
Creaking... They are carrying something heavy and wearing heavy armor as well.
Their steps are well coordinated... Experienced fighters.
And they definitely noticed me, not really the normal bunch if they can detect me while I'm inside this ash pile…
I have an idea… But first… I need to put on some clothes, my previous ones are completely charred.
But it can't be something too perfect…
…
/A few minutes before.../
"Things are becoming worse..." Raul mentioned as he avoided stepping on a sharp rock
/Gulp.../
My foot would have a hole if I wasn't careful...
'After a few more minutes walking around in the forest, meeting with all sorts of bizarre sights, such as the numerous monster corpses that littered the ground together with a sea of drop items and magic stones, they finally arrived at the main area where they thought the pillar of fire had originated from.'
'And they immediately realized something.'
"Isn't this the Red plains?" The black haired cat girl asked as she looked at the blood-red weeds that grew on the ground
(Image?)
'Albeit most of those were now destroyed, replaced by many craters, buried by the monsters' bodies and the black ash, or simply overturned in some way shape, or form…'
"It's completely destroyed…"
"I used to like this place, despite its bad reputation…"
'The cat girl remorsefully looked at the dead grass.'
/Slap/
'But Raul appeared behind her, slapping her shoulders with a smile.'
"You talk as if this mattered Ana, the Dungeon will fix this in a week or two."
"Ur..."
'Anakitty looked at Raul with disappointed eyes, but she should've expected it, this idiot wouldn't understand… Complete and utter lack of romanticism.'
'So she merely left to the backline to talk with the other more understanding girls, leaving him alone with the dog man.'
'This made Raul confused, he looked left and right but he couldn't find the reason for her departure.'
"Huh? Why did she leave? Did I say something wrong?"
'Cruz looked at him with a hopeless expression.'
"Really bro?... Damn."
"I thought I was bad with girls, but it seems you beat me up to it..."
/Tap tap.../
"keep it up, buddy!" He said as he left
"Wh… What do you mean Cruz? Please explain it to me!"
'Cruz only waved back.'
"Nah man, figure it out yourself…"
"Wh…"
"Why is everyone always like this to me?" Raul said dejectedly as he looked at the ground
I'm not an idiot…
...
'Everyone kept looking around, noticing more and more bizarre oddities…'
'The first thing was that this was indeed the place they were looking for, the density of monster-related items has increased significantly, and the amount of destruction is incomparable to the rest of the forest.'
'Second, the complete and utter lack of… Life.'
'No monsters… No people… Not even their bodies, only a few scattered, broken remains of the monsters were left.'
'They already expected to find the monster corpses, but this was completely… Barren.'
"Why are they gone?" Cruz asked from the backlines
'Scratching his ears, Cruz looked around.'
"It does seem to be the right place…"
/Twitch…/
"..."
'Bete's ears suddenly twitched as he looked at the side.'
"I hear something… Someone's here."
"!"
'Everyone followed his eyes towards a large pile of ash in the corner of this mess…'
/Hustle…/
'The ash started to move, and from within, an arm popped off!'
""KYA!""
"Ghost!"
'Some of the girls were startled by this, especially the ones that couldn't take horror…'
'This included the silent Ais who tensed, her dominant hand going for her sword, albeit her grip was extremely weak as her hands trembled.'
"It's not a ghost danmit!" Bete exclaimed in anger
These pussies...
"Leave it to me."
"Be careful Gareth." Finn said as he looked around, making sure there were no extra surprises
"Always."
'The old Dwarf approached the pile of ashes, grabbing the arm with resolution and pulling it up without hesitation!'
""!""
'And a person was dragged out with it!'
"HAA!"
'The person who was pulled was startled, letting out an overly dramatic scream...'
"Huh?"
"What the… Oh? It's you old man… Albeit… You look kind of weird…" Silver replied as he looked at Gareth, noticing his blackened face due to the charcoal that fell on him a bit earlier
/SILENCE/
'All of the Executives of the Loki Familia suddenly froze, it was to such a degree that the others even became a bit startled.'
'Did they recognize him? It seemed so...'
'Just who was this person to make them like this all of the sudden?... Including their Boss?'
'And why was he topless?'
"Old man?... Can you let go of my hand? It kind of hurts, not gonna lie."
"Hm? Apologies young man, I was just surprised, there ya go."
'Gareth did just as Silver asked, letting him go.'
'Silver immediately stretched and crouched, grabbing a potion from within the ash, popping it up as he drank it, sprinkling some of its contents on his bare chest, much to his observers' displeasure… Or pleasure…'
'The more they looked at him, the more they understood he was likely the culprit for everything that had just happened, or at least, he was part of it.'
'His chest was riddled with wounds and scars, his arms as well, some closed, some open, even after being dragged from the ash, some of it clung into his skin, making him look just like Gareth.'
'And making their job of recognizing him that much harder.'
"Huff!"
'Silver pushed himself a little, stepping out of the hole, and a few of the girls became embarrassed.'
'Not only was he topless, but he was also pantless, and only a small section of his pants was now left somewhat intact, the only thing left between their eyes and his private parts…'
"Phew… That was tough…"
'Silver smiled warmly to Gareth, before taking a look at the people of the Loki Familia.'
"Well… We meet again, this time in quite the situation, so pardon my current looks, there isn't much I can do if my clothes don't have the same Status as me..."
"But... Honestly… You all look like crap, so I guess were even."
They really got me by surprise... I thought their Expedition group had already passed through this floor...
To think there would still be some people left, what a surprise.
"Wh... Sort of logic is that?..." Riveria mumbled as she shook her head in confusion
"... Buwahahaha! And you're one to talk kid! Only your pants are left!" Gareth said with a smile as he scratched his beard
Is he the only one?...
'For now, Gareth stopped overthinking, this situation was already strange enough, nothing would come from thinking and thinking... Leave that to the small Pallum back there...'
'So he decided to merely listen to this young man, see what he had to say.'
'To his words, Silver shrugged with a smile.'
"What can I say, my clothes weren't made to resist being blasted by a firestorm… I'm still looking for some that can last me a few dives, but I've been unsuccessful so far."
Because of that, I stuck with buying cheap clothes instead of expensive ones.
'Gareth's eyes shinned with a certain comradeship...'
"Is that so? I've actually run into the same problem many years ago, so I have some recommendations…"
…
/At the same time, a few meters back.../
"..."
'While Silver discussed with Gareth on the side, the others looked in stunned silence.'
'The Executives couldn't believe who they were seeing, while the others were trying to make ends meet to understand the situation.'
"..."
/Clench.../
'The first to get his bearings was Bete, who clenched his fist in a mix of disbelief and anger, he didn't take a step forward, there was no need to, he wasn't ignorant to disregard the situation, as he had already started to understand what had happened.'
'Albeit he still found it hard to believe.'
'The second one was Ais, her mind was simple, and so were her desires, after being surprised, she quickly recovered as she had a single question she had in her mind:'
'What are you doing here?...'
'The "how" would come later.'
'So she took a step forward, the first of everyone to move.'
"WA-WA-WA-WA-A-Aaa…"
'Lefiya's mind went into a loop, she didn't understand where to begin, neither did she understand how to finish…'
'Just for a moment, the hardships they had to face to come down here went past her mind, and when she started to think about how he did it alone, her brain clogged.'
'So she mindlessly went after Ais, her head still spinning as she denied reality… Especially the image of the half-naked man in front of her.'
"This is... Unexpected..."
"Took the words right out of my mouth."
'Finn and Riveria recovered almost at the same time, both frowning, the same questions passing through their minds…'
'However, such things needed to be asked later down the line, not here in the Middle of a dangerous field.'
"I've seen him before…"
'Following the Executives who had already talked and met with Silver privately, it was time for the others to make sense of this mess.'
'Cruz looked at Silver with a deep gaze, trying to remember where he had previously seen him… But not much passed through his mind, the famous white brain blank.'
'Raul was just looking from afar, he may act stupid, but he did have a brain, he immediately understood that based on his actions so far, Silver was alone and likely pretty happy.'
"HUUUUUHHH??!!"
'Tiona's mind finally processed things, and her answer was to exclaim loudly as she ran forward and pointed.'
"Oi, wait a bit Tiona!"
'And her sister went right after.'
'When they left, Finn exclaimed awkwardly to the others:'
"Everyone, focus."
"It seems things have taken yet another confusing turn…"
'He face-palmed.'
"Albeit I wonder if this is better than my previous expectations…"
"Uh... Mnn..."
"Captain, do you know him?"
"I do... And perhaps... You should too."
'While they looked confused, Finn just told them it was better to regroup, so they started walking.'
'In the end, everyone followed Ais and the others, interested in knowing the story behind this…'
'While some wanted to understand who he was, the Executives wanted to know how a Level 2 adventurer made all the way to the end of the Lower floors finding himself in the middle of this mayhem!'
'How was he connected to all of this?'
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Notes
If there are any mistakes, tell me, because I did quite a big change.
This chapter used to start with the Loki Familia's POV and then Silver's.
But then I switched it, thinking it made things flow better.
We're literally on the final arc before the end, I think I said this too many times already, either because I'm stupid, or because it's simply an impression due to how long it has been...
This Loki arc is a little big, it'll likely cover the next 2 weeks worth of chapters, but hopefully, I'll set their characters completely, and there won't be a need to showcase them like this in the future at least for a while.
There will be one side chapter that will be full of interesting character interactions, and if you want a spoil, there will be a scene where the boys will try to sneak on the girls bathing, and Silver may...
Well, we'll see.
For now, the Loki Familia has met Silver, next, they'll climb back up, and prepare to face Amphisbaena!
After that, back to Orario to deal with the aftermath of his choices.
See you all then, peace.