I'll post the other chapter, the side chapter about this small arc after I come back from the family dinner.
It'll take a little while, but hopefully, I'll still have time today to drop that and the other chapter from Zero Fate.
But considering how things are, I may only be able to do that tomorrow.
Also, taking into account that after next week will be New year, I'll start to announce that I'll take a break during the first week of New year since that'll be when my final exams will take place together with the fact that its new year, so a small break should be justifiable LoL.
That's pretty much it.
Actually, I at first made this chapter bigger, but as I edited it, the word count went beyond 4.5 K, and realizing I had made a mistake, I cut it and used the rest to make the next chapter.
I hope you can forgive me, this chapter is still well beyond 2.5 K, and it'll probably breach 3K once I edit it again, but you may feel as if it simply did not cover as much ground as it should.
PS: It did.
Anyway, that's all from me!
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…
'After walking a bit, Silver's eyes flashed blue, and his gaze became a bit empty as if his focus was elsewhere...'
"There they go… Now I'm left alone once more…"
Although traveling around the Dungeon took longer than I expected, I did learn a lot during my time with them.
"That moving around is more of a bother than I could've ever imagined..."
Made me remember my time as a Level 1 adventurer, and the time before I actually became an adventurer.
At that time, I had to walk to the Dungeon from the old Church, sometimes getting on a wagon, 'enjoying' the length and bumpy ride across Orario.
Fighting and moving across the claustrophobic hallways of the Upper floors...
And after a long day, teleport back to the surface, wasting the little energy I had left and collapsing on my bed due to exhaustion...
"I would have to frequently clean my bed sheets due to that..."
Very different from now, I just come and go whenever I wish, and I normally move at high speeds in the Dungeon, either through teleportation or flight, sometimes I just walk, it depends on how cautious I'm being.
If I'm exploring a new floor for example.
"Good times..."
"Hugh!"
'Stretching his back and arms, Silver looked around with a certain interest.'
"The Loki Familia… Is stronger than I thought."
And hopefully, as soon as tomorrow, I'll see that for myself how capable they truly are.
What I saw so far was just a small part of what they can do.
"To put it in better words…"
They are stronger as a group than I expected.
And I have yet to see their true power.
Their coordination and fighting capabilities, when put together, can make them take down creatures much stronger than themselves.
Well, that is to say, each and every one of the Executives has some sort of Unique repertoire of abilities that makes them exceptional.
And when all of these Unique individuals are put together under the right leadership, it results in a fearsome display…
The Freya Familia definitely surpasses the Loki Familia in terms of special and unique individuals by miles, as her Divine ability allows her to scout any individual no matter how hidden they are as she peers directly into one's Soul.
After all, if in a generation there are 1000 individuals with the same level of Talent as let's say, Tiona and Tione, only 10 to 30 would see the light of day and be developed.
The rest would either live their own lives without knowing what they could've been, die, or their circumstances might lead them on some unforeseen road.
Such as not growing properly, losing an arm or a leg due to an accident, or straying off into a dark path...
That is why they say Ais is a talent only seen once in a while, albeit for Freya, she has seen it a tad too many times, the problem is that she is very bad at managing a Familia...
They lack leadership, the Freya Familia are merely a group of strong/talented individuals, each willing to send each other down for the sake of their goal.
One they are unwilling to share.
Their Goddess' Love, attention, and care.
The better they are, the easier it is for her to see them, if she desires them, she'll pluck them like a girl grabbing flowers from a garden.
I would be surprised if there was even a single person in that Familia of hers that is actually normal, just willing to become a good adventurer with no second intentions, this person would be commendable…
But so far, I'm willing to believe everyone in there wants her body or atention, for one reason or another.
Apart from, of course, Ottar, who treats her more like a person than everyone else... Even if that is up for debate.
You can't deny that albeit Freya has a kink for gathering pretty flowers into her garden, she does take proper care of her 'collection'.
In her own way...
And I have no doubts she already saw me when you take count of all of the events that drew me into the limelight recently... Such as Ishtar's actions.
It would be strange if she didn't notice me.
Albeit, I'm unsure what to think of her, I've only met Freya twice, at the party... And in the bathhouse... Urg...
She approached me more than once, yet did close to nothing, I'm unsure if she sees me as a weird commodity, or if she's simply too occupied with something else to care.
"No, that wouldn't make much sense..."
There is nothing that can stop her desires apart from another Goddess like Loki, and Loki herself would never put herself in front of her for an adventurer of another Familia.
Whatever it is, I need to grow stronger, fast.
"Sigh, thinking about this makes me realize how long the path ahead is."
'Silver walked to a rock nearby, sitting on it.'
What sort of adventurer am I?
I thought about this before and it has clung to my mind...
Everything I have is my Magic, that in itself is not bad, but I realize that I need 'something else'.
I have 3 Skills, one raises the amount of Exelia I gain, so it can be considered a passive ability until more of its effects are discovered if there are any.
The other one reduces the amount of time I need to grow strong by raising my starting point in regard to others, as while everyone starts at I-0, I start at H-100.
This is great since while most would take weeks to months to get used to their increased stats before getting stronger again, I receive quite a substantial boost to my abilities merely by Leveling up.
Lastly, I have a Skill that gives me a Development ability, which is interesting, but once again, passive.
I have no super ability or something that defines me… But honestly, I think I'm just thinking too much.
My "Magic" allowed me to breach my limits, my Skills allowed me to seek further challenges, and all of this together shaped me into the adventurer I am today.
So what if I have nothing else apart from a strong body and a weird collection of magic spells? That is enough.
I just have to open my mind and be creative, my Plasmids can be anything, I can do anything.
And as my Magic Stat increases, it'll become comparable to even the strongest Spells Riveria can cast…
Albeit that in itself may take a few more Levels… Perhaps I may have to surpass Level 5 and reach 6 to do that… Even with my high stats, this is how impressive she is with the way she paved herself.
That is quantity, as for control... I have classified my Plasmids in layers due to their complexity and how taxing they are for me to use.
It's not like I forgot how to use them, but more like I can't, it's just something to help me understand where I stand.
Through Tier 1 to 3, my current state allows me to effectively employ Tier 3 Plasmids in combat to a certain degree, but Tier 4 is something else...
There is a lot I can do, however, I'm far from being able to utilize everything I have in my arsenal...
At first, I thought it would take longer to use Tier 3 effectively, but I underestimated my own growth.
Level 4... Perhaps I'll be able to do it...
But first, I need to get there.
"Though... I ought to be careful."
Level 5 adventurers and above will have their own specialties, I can't be the best at everything.
I don't need to.
'Silver smiled, vanishing from where he currently was.'
…
'He reappeared somewhere within the forest of dried wood near the Loki Familia's camp, but not for long as one of the Coral shaped trees cracked open, transforming into a misshapen door.'
'After looking around several more times, making sure no one was here, took a step forward, pushing the door…'
/Creak…/
'The door opened, revealing a room that was illuminated under a faint light coming from a tall crystal on the side, it was the same one he took from the 18th floor all those days ago…'
"ZZZzzz…"
'And of course, you couldn't forget to mention the black-haired Goddess that slept soundly on top of a large Office table, waiting soundly for someone to return.'
"I'm home."
Albeit not for long…
'With a smile on his face, he took a step inside his Manor's Office as there were a few things he needed to discuss with her.'
'After all, he was going to spend the night in the Dungeon for the first time ever since he started adventuring, he needed to notify her of this never seen before situation.'
'Else she may start throwing a fuss upon noticing that he wasn't back…'
/Clack…/
'The door closed, and the tree went back to normal as if nothing had ever happened.'
…
/Step step…/
"ZZzz… Heh… zzz… Huh?"
'Due to the continuous echos of his shoes, Hestia drowsily opened her eyes as she looked forward.'
"Daphne?... I'm not sleeping… I'm just… Taking a temporary eye recharge... Huh?!"
'Finally sobering and waking up from her "nightmare" where she was signing up 100 papers, Hestia opened her eyes wide as she realized that this was not a dream anymore.'
/CREEK!/
'So without saying much, she jumped from her chair and over the table towards him without a care in the world…'
/Thud…/
'Because she knew he would grab her, and sure he did.'
'Like a kitten, she rubbed her face on his chest...'
"I'm very happy to be so eagerly welcomed, albeit please, don't do such a dangerous thing next time." He replied with a helpless expression as he held her close
"Humph, if this is dangerous, I don't think we need to talk about the Dungeon."
"You do have some rights but…"
"No buts!"
"..."
Looks like she's upset, did something go wrong at work this time?
It's not like this is the first time, every once in a while, as she works as a clerk in one of Hephaestus' shops, she'll receive one bad customer every once in a while...
Fine, I'll pamper you a bit.
/Tic tic tic…/
"..."
'However, the rhythmical ticking of the clock hanging on the wall woke him up.'
'Unfortunately, today wasn't a day he could throw away time like this.'
'So he remorsefully patted her head.'
"First, let's talk for a moment, I don't have much time left today…"
"Hm?"
'Albeit confused, since this was the first time that Silver had to leave at night, Hestia listened to his story as the minutes rolled by…'
…
/5 minutes later…/
"I refuse." She said with a pout
"What?... I told you…"
"I… Refuse!" She exclaimed as she jumped at him again, throwing a small fit
"Ouch… Stop… You know that I have to leave else…"
"And leave you to sleep with those people? Not on my watch!"
"You little…"
'Silver smiled in a mix of annoyance and happiness.'
'And he eventually said as his hands opened, saying with a smile:'
"If God has denied me of my path… Then I shall make my own and commit a sin!"
"Ha?! Silver! Hahahaha! Stop! Haha…" She laughed as he tickled her
'A tug of war between the two started…'
…
/Sometime later…/
"... Aaaaand… Done. Status update complete." Hestia whispered as she slapped his back lightly
"Good work."
"I should be the one saying that though... The only thing I do is write on a piece of paper."
/Scribble…/
'She quickly inscribed something on a high-quality piece of paper nearby.'
"Here, take a look for yourself."
"Nothing new?" Silver asked with a bit of disappointment as he looked at her
"What else do you want?"
"A Skill?"
/Slap!/
'She slapped his ass.'
"Skills don't come and go like that!"
"..."
/Tud tud tud.../
'Feeling the continuous punches of his Goddess that were more akin to a massage on his back, Silver read the paper with a fast glance:'
----------------------------------
Mellios Silver
Level-3
Strength SSS-1203 -> SSS-1404
Vitality SSS-1247 -> SSS-1466
Dexterity SS-1090 -> SSS-1380
Agility SSS-1332 -> SSS-1499
Magic SSS-1278 -> SSS-1489
Evolved body -> H
Perseverance -> G
Geneticist -> H
Magic:
>Magnum Opus Ambrosia
Skills:
>Vit Alhjin
>Infir David Missimus
>Neo Stur
----------------------------------
(N1 for a recap on what everything does)
…
"Sigh, even after so much training and bloodshed day in and out, I'm still a bit off from my ultimate goal…"
Things truly get harder and harder, sure, I've been a Level 3 adventurer for 2 and half months, so I can definitely go further, another 2 weeks of intense training should do the trick.
Perhaps more, as in 2 months of training non-stop, Dexterity only rose to 1090, so it may take a while to go beyond the current value... I have no intention of stopping halfway.
I trained non-stop, bleed a lot every day, and used all sorts of means in order to trigger my Skills and Development abilities, in and outside of the Dungeon so everything would grow as fast as possible...
I removed all of my armor, and most of the time, fought without using my Halberd, using ice spears as a substitute, even when all monsters here could break it without much effort…
I did things like using the feared birds in the waterfalls of the Water city to train my Agility, to the point my Agility Stat outgrow my incredibly fast-growing Magic Stat…
I drank all sorts of poisons and substances to stimulate my body, and I let monsters slash it time and time again on purpose, healing myself over and over with my Plasmids, and even so, my Constitution only barely kept up with those two Stats.
As always Strength and Dexterity fell behind, for obvious reasons.
And now, I fought such a despairing fight, and yet there was no raise in my Development abilities?
There is a reason why people take so long to Level up after all and why they focus on one or two Stats at most…
"Sigh..."
"It rose so fast at first, but after it went past the 1000 mark, things just started to take more and more and more effort."
/TAP TAP TAP!/
"And how is that bad?!" Hestia said as she kept 'punching' his back
"..."
... Even when I'm taking care of monsters higher in Level than me, the raise is just this much…
If I was fighting normal monsters around my Level, how many more times would've it taken me to reach this point, if at all?
I might've taken just a tad less than Ais to Level up, she took one year to become Level 4, 3 years in total ever since she started, while I've taken half a year to become who I am.
The question now is... Should I press on and Level up, or should I try to push my body to its absolute limits?
At this time, I could raise my Stats way further by Leveling up, making my standing against the Ishtar Familia that much better...
I don't want to give up like this, but it's also true that I'll need everything I have to deal with them.
I'll think about this after I'm officially back from the Dungeon.
/Creak.../
'Silver slowly moved, startling Hestia.'
"Are you leaving now?" Hestia asked as she laid her head on his back
"Yes, I'll be back by tomorrow afternoon, we can take some time to eat at a restaurant if you're available."
'She smiled.'
"Then it's a promise, don't forget it."
"Never."
"You did get late once."
"That was because my watch broke down…"
"Let's go to that expensive place, I'll pay!" She said proudly as she puffed her chest
"You sure? You'll end up using all of the hard-worked money you made..."
'She quickly put her hands on his mouth so he would stop talking.'
"Shh! Stop talking, before I reconsider!"
"..."
You talk as if you had no allowance...
'After a bit more of small talk, Silver kissed Hestia one more time before opening a door and stepping over it.'
'It was for a moment, but Hestia saw a forest of Coral trees on the other side, she knew where he was, the 28th floor, a place very far from her…'
'However, as long as the blessing she gave him burned brightly, she would be able to feel him... Or so she hoped.'
'So she clasped her hands at the same time as the door close, praying so he would be back safely.'
…
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Notes
N1
Development Abilities
>Evolved body- increases his basic attributes (Such as resistances), this value is affected by the Status boost, but it isn't additive per Level.
>Perseverance- It raises all stats the more beaten up the person is, even if he is healed up afterward. Its effects increased based on the user's determination and will to live and fight.
>Geneticist- Increases the strength, speed, and effectiveness of Plasmids and Gene related abilities.
/Based on in-world analysis.../
Skills
>Vit Alhjin- Greatly strengthens the User body. Raising all of his stats by one level permanently. Meaning he always starts at H-100 instead of i-0.
But it massively alters the user's body, making it incapable of using normal magic apart from his own exclusive magic, suffering a greater version of "Mind down" if he tries.
-
>Infir David Missimus- Massively increases Excelia gain when fighting stronger monsters in challenging ways.
The more despairing the situation seems the stronger the effects gets. Winning impossible battles increases the chances of rewards.
-
>Neo Stur- Gives him the Development Ability Evolved Body
EXTRA!
EXTRA!
I actually forgot to mention something.
I have been working on learning how to use the AI you see.
And I made a couple of images that I think are pretty cool.
All of this is funded by my P@treon, and I'll eventually post them there since P@treon isn't exactly a good page to drop images, either that, or I'm dumb.
My greatest problem with images is the fingers, the Ai can struggle very hard to do so, and also making a Halberd, for some reason, it simply can't understand what it is.
I'll post it all here really quickly, but make sure to come back later because I'm actually being pressured to go to the Family dinner, and I'm typing at light speed.
(Here they are, there may be some problems or missing, so make sure to come back in a few hours to check everything)
In case there are none, wait for some time I'll try to drop them later.
Peace.