A bit late, but I had Uni to attend.
Hopefully today I will post more chapters of my other Novel, I had to take a slight pause so that I could get back into the schedule of Zero fate.
Apologies.
So now, back to the chapter.
I hope you enjoy it!
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/Around 4 hours later…/
"It's quite late now." Said Nicc as she saw the afternoon sun
'But then she said as she stretched:'
"We did spend almost half of the day in the Dungeon, we fought everything that appeared and we didn't avoid the monsters, otherwise we would've been faster."
"Although… It was a shame we didn't pass through Rivira, we're going there next time right?"
'Silver nodded, before he continued walking towards an exchange boot, and this time, he had nothing to hide in regards to his trades.'
'People knew his strength, although suspicion would always rise, it didn't matter anymore to him as his current reputation was good enough.'
"You can stay with my part as payment, I didn't do much anyway." Said Nicc as she saw the coins flow through the exchange cabin
"Okay." Said Silver without a change in expression
This should cover some of the immediate expenses of the Familia.
Weapons and armor for Low-Level adventurers are quite inexpensive, but I would prefer to buy some of decent quality...
A few more days like this should be enough.
'His reaction annoyed her a bit but she kept her mouth shut as she did a light kick on his leg.'
'Silver grabbed his money and stored it in the backpack before he asked:'
"Will you be here tomorrow for this again?"
"Oho? Is that an invite? If so, I accept."
'Silver frowned.'
"I never heard of someone inviting a girl out to go to the Dungeon..."
"There is always a first time for everything, but I am sure there were people who did that already, Rivira is quite a beautiful place."
'Silver shook his head.'
"I am not asking you out, instead, I want to say that this is probably going to be the last time we do something like this… At least in the near future."
'Nicc's ears dropped a little.'
"Why?... Ah, I see. I am a burden, right? I understand, I asked too much of you."
'Silver scratched his head, seeing her down, he went to a shop nearby to buy her a few snacks as he said:'
"I wouldn't be so harsh as to say you are a burden, it's just that the level I am currently fighting at is a bit too high for you right now."
"You can't react to the monsters' movement, much less fight them since you have no fighting experience, that is a big problem, if you can't protect yourself during an emergency then bad things are bound to happen."
'He turned to her and said:'
"And I don't want that."
"..."
"Also, I need to make money, preferably fast.
"And for that, I will have to go towards more dangerous areas of the Dungeon, it's okay for me to escape, but with you, things might get a bit harder."
I scouted only a small part of those floors, once I have a proper route set up and get used to things such as the adventurers' and monsters' movements, then I will be able to start having some 'fun'.
And today, I already lost quite a bit with the cost of the antidotes I used on her, you could say that today was more of a gift for her than anything else.
"Your knowledge and understanding of the Dungeon are very useful and your stats aren't low for a Level 1. You could even Level up if you got the chance… That's why I wanted to propose something for you."
'Nicc's ears perked up, interested in what he had to say.'
"I imagine that you will try and work as a Supporter for a while right? That's what most do. So how about working with my Familia since you don't have a team?"
'Her eyes narrowed.'
"Are you inviting me to your harem? I am honored but I would like to be the only one in my man's life." She said as she played with her fingers
'Silver let out a sigh.'
"You say I am annoying, but you are also a pain to deal with sometimes."
'Nicc had a sly smile on her face as she looked at him.'
"Currently, the Familia is going through a training phase, they are still too disorganized to go into the Dungeon on their own, so if you want, I can put you in it, that should be enough for you to grow used to being an adventurer and working with others, and perhaps, you can even find a team to join."
If she joins, everything will get simpler.
She knows a lot about the Dungeon itself, knowledge that could be passed down to the recruits… Even if just a small part, that is already enough for them to get started.
She can also get stronger and if she can become a Level 2 and gain Abnormal resistance, she would be able to join me without much trouble.
Of course, if I am hunting 'in a normal way' like today and not like a madman using my usual methods such as the luring powder…
That information would be better brought with me to my grave than to hearing their complaints...
"What do you think? I'll just say it right now, it will be hard."
'Nicc thought for a while as she ate her Jagamarakun, and after a little while, she raised her head and said:'
"I want to get stronger."
There are things that I need to do… Places I wish to be…
"Then I will take that as a yes… Let's go to the Guild and receive our rewards for the commissions."
'But Nicc stopped walking.'
"You can go first, I'll do something first and go to your house around an hour later, don't be late!"
"Sure, see you there, if you need help, just come to me as always."
'Nicc turned around and started to walk away.'
"I know I know, see ya!"
"..."
'Silver put his hands on his pockets and made his way to the Guild…'
…
/Cling cling cling…/
'Silver walked out of the Guild playing with a large sac of money, throwing it up and down in the air.'
"The sound of money is always pleasant to the ears. I particularly enjoy the sound these gold coins make."
'He stopped and thought as he looked at the moon in the sky:'
They should still be training, and although it's getting late, I should still have a bit of time…
Going to the Dungeon is a valid option, but first… It's time to check the black market again.
It's been some time, they should've recovered a bit by now and perhaps they'll have the things I want…
But first, I'll beat up the greedy bastards that are after me.
'Silver did not turn his face to look at the shady guys that were looking at him, and instead, he continued on his way across the streets.'
'At first, he hadn't noticed them, but surprisingly, Eina felt something was wrong and warned Silver, so he owed her a bit even if it didn't mean much, to begin with.'
'Be it now or later, he would've eventually found out.'
…
/SMACK!/
"I-I'm So…"
/SMACK!/
"Sh-Towp…"
/SMACK!/
'After leaving the Guild, Silver walked around for a few more minutes until he 'got ambushed' by his stakers, a group of 7, all boys, they all had colored chokers and seemed rather pretty as well and that was something that made him rather confused.'
"Perverted bastards..."
Guys using chokers in broad daylight?
Hum... Not exactly, they seemed to be hiding them instead of showing them off.
'Of course, who they were or what they were into didn't matter to Silver, only their reason for being here mattered.'
'One of the things he found quite interesting was how all of them were Level 3… Or at least, their strength pointed at that.'
'They could also be strong Level 2's as the effect would've been the same.'
'As expected, Silver easily despatched them all, bound them with ropes from his inventory, and started his interrogation…'
'He first tried some more direct methods like simply punching their teeth out, but since that didn't work, he started to use his Plasmids…'
'And those 4 guys white broken noses, arms, legs, and teeth are the result of that, the other 2 looked at the scene with fear. What about the last one?'
/SMACK!/
"Good, I think this is enough, speak. What do you want from me?"
"..."
"Silence again? Why are you guys so inflexible? But that is fine by me, there are still 2 more to go…"
'Silver knocked the guy out and went to the next 2… But even after going through all of it, they still didn't say much.'
'Silver was being cautious, he didn't know who they were nor their motive, so he went easy as to avoid any future problems in case this is a big misunderstanding.'
'And even he felt that he was being too cautious, no matter who it is, there are consequences for spying on his back like that...'
'But it is true that if he found someone like Hermes spying on him, he would at most, kick his ass a few times and not go too far...'
"Time for some more serious measures." He mumbled to himself
'The wall next to Silver turned black as a dark portal formed, and from inside it, Silver pulled a small potion bottle.'
/RIP!/
'He ripped the shirt of one of the guys and turned him around, showing his bareback.'
"Let's see who is your master…"
'Silver removed the lid of the container and dropped a single drop onto his back.'
/Shing!/
'His back started to shine with light as symbols started to appear on it…'
'It where his status! Silver was using a Status thief! An illegal item that allowed someone to see the status of someone else. Of course, being able to decipher what is written is something else entirely…'
'Over the months with Hestia, Silver slowly learned more and more about the divine language, but he was still not proficient in it to the point where he could read letters, only the numbers and the rank of their stats.'
'But he did not care for the man's petty status, what he wanted to see was the Familia symbol, imprinted clearly on his back…'
"A woman… This is... A prostitute?..."
(Image)
'Silver had to think for a few seconds before he said:'
"Unless there is another God with a prostitute for the symbol, it can only be one person..."
"But what the fuck is the Ishtar Familia doing? Why do they wish to mess with me?"
'Silver frowned, he tried his best to repair the shirt of the man in a weak attempt at covering his tracks.'
'He threw those guys in the nearest trash bin, but not before taking a photo of their faces and their backs, just in case.'
'He considered if he should eliminate them, or even do something more drastic like altering their minds...'
'But not only would the second option be very hard to pull off with his current capabilities, the consequences of the first one might be equally big.'
'So before he knew the circumstance behind this mess, he decided against it and left them in the trash.'
…
'Silver did not go back into the Dungeon, nor did he go back home, however, he made sure to make a letter and drop it in on Hestia's room while she was in the bathroom, and when he was done, he left through his teleportation door.'
'As he reappeared on the ceiling of a building nearby, he noticed a certain bear girl waiting near the Manor's gates...'
"..."
Sorry Nicc, something serious has popped up, I'll make up with you another time.
At least you won't have to wait for long...
'And so Silver left to investigate…'
…
/A few minutes later.../
"Ahhh… What a nice bath… Hot water whenever I want sure is good…"
'Hestia jumped into the bed, letting her wet hair fall into the pillows. She raised her head and looked at the ceiling, a bit sad.'
My romantic life just started but I can't even enjoy it…
'She kicked the bed with a bit of anger as she continued with her chaotic thoughts...'
Why is my fate so cruel?! And why did he have to catch Artemis' heart as well?!
'She got up and sat upright on the bed.'
"And the first thing he does is go back to the Dungeon the moment he has free time… Urg!"
I want to cuddle! I want him to hug me! I want to…
"To see him… ?"
'It was then she saw a letter written on the table and she immediately recognized the secret symbol in it, it was Silver's letter!'
'She happily grabbed the letter and read it, but her enthusiasm hit rock bottom… '
'Her hair rose on its own, as she threw the letter on the ground with an angry face.'
"You finally approach me but it's to talk about another girl?!"
'Hestia pouted as she looked at the letter, she rushed back to the bathroom and started to get ready to see who this girl was…'
…
'At the same time, Silver arrived at the Red light district… If Hestia knew, she would have a heart attack…'
(Image)
"This place has a stronger smell than a spice shop… Literally… How can demi Humans even walk around this place with their sensitive noses…" Said Silver as he walked around
'His guard was up, he was ready to bail out as soon as possible, he knew the Ishtar Familia was a bit too strong for him to take on his own and after the War game, people would be sure to have thought of countermeasures against some of his abilities.'
'To make sure no one recognized him, Silver did a bit of a make-up session...'
'He had a large scar on his left eye and his hair was spiked and blond, he didn't look as overly handsome as he once us, but he looked somehow mainly, although his purpose was for the people to not recognize him.'
'His eyes were also brown instead of their beautiful glowy silver...
'He saw many pretty girls with makeup on the streets, it wasn't the time of the red light district yet, but it would soon be, seeing how many people were now entering the district, flocking into its many shops.'
'The district wasn't only about the sex, but gambling and other activities as well.'
"I should first take a look around the Ishtar Familia home, I still have time..."
Although I doubt I will see anything.
Those guys should have woken up by now and they should be making their way here, so the best would be to keep a look around their home.
I would enter it but I don't want to risk it too much, so I'll wait for those guys first, see what they were on about, and leave.
'The Ishtar Familia house was a literal tower, similar to Babel, and a clear reflection of Ishtar's desires.'
'This is to show how obsessed Ishtar is with power and being on top of others… Especially Freya.'
'Belit Babili, and translated as, Godly Brothel of the Mistress.'
'Ishtar's Familia is super big as well, with around 90% of it being woman and most of them being Amazoness.'
'However, not all of them were combatants of course, otherwise they would have a literal army.'
'In their hierarchy, the Amazons that are combatants are called Berbera and there should be over 100 of such girls, with most of them being Level 3 and above.'
"Of course, they do have their male warriors and members..."
Like the ones I met.
But I must say that all males of their Familia are well… Akin to sexual slaves.
And don't misunderstand, although the Ishtar Familia is known for their ownership of the red light district, that does not mean that all girls are prostitutes, some can be rather reserved or have their own preferences…
Although it's true that most of them are indeed... Open.
Perhaps not prostitutes, but they wouldn't have difficulties finding a partner to spend the night...
Besides, Amazons as a race see sex in a completely different way than most other races.
Especially Elves...
'Silver quickly made his way down the road, and thankfully, there was only one entrance to the Belit Babili, so it was clear, those guys would have to pass through here. Unless there was a secret passage.'
'So Silver sat down in the upper floors of a brothel, he bought a night with a girl but knocked her out after they got inside the room, now he can relax and wait while having a view of the entrance…'
'Picking up one of the cheap wines on the table, just something strong meant to lighten up the mood, Silver took a taste and almost spat it out before his dick got hard...'
"Of fucking course, I should've expected it to be filled with aphrosiacs… Dammit..."
"Pfft! Hahaha... What a situation..."
If Loiju learns about this he would make fun of me for days on end...
"I need to be more careful of what I drink and consume from now on..."
I'll keep that on the back of my mind.
'Silver got up from the chair and turned his head to the side, putting the bottle back on the table, and as he did that, he saw the girl laying on the bed...'
'She looked a bit more beautiful now…'
…
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Notes
0_0
I saw it! Get them, John!