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/Knock knock…/
/Creak…/
"Excuse me…" Nicc said as she opened the double doors to a grand office
This place is as neat as ever...
'The Office was the meaning of low-key grandeur as its decorations looked small and self-contained, but their essence was as expensive as you could get.'
'The wood on the furniture, the stone of the small statues, the smell of tea leaves in the air...'
'Many rolls of books filled every nook and cranny of the room, the wood shelves were carved with exquisite designs of warriors and beasts, representing mythological battles long forgotten.'
'On the wall, long tablets of stone were embedded, telling stories of distant eras in the language only the Gods understood.'
'Tales only the Gods would remember.'
'In the middle of the room stood a table, but not one to rest teapots, that wasn't its purpose.'
'It instead contained a few relics of unknown origin and purpose, it was a display.'
'Behind the display stood another, fancier table, a proper desk for an elegant and luxurious Office.'
'Atop the table were many items, from a pile of papers to a small desk lamp. But by the looks of the golden quill being used, it was clear they were all pricy too.'
'Using the table, a woman with dark hair stood with a pair of dim golden glasses, she looked like an office lady, but her current relaxed gaze and nonchalant expression said otherwise.'
'She looked bored even.'
"... You barely gave me any time to reply..."The woman said as she put her pen down, raising her head to stare at Nicc
'Her voice was sweet, but it had a serious tone to it.'
'Her clothes were composed of a long dress that covered every single part of her body, and the only bits of skin she was showing were her arms and a part of her shoulders.'
'The reason being the heat of summer, otherwise, she would've covered her shoulders without a doubt…'
'Her gentle and smooth voice, her conservative and serious appearance, and her nonchalant and tired expression did not match.'
'Behind her, 3 pairs of heavy armor stood proudly in their respective stands.'
'One golden, one black, and the other white, each more armored than the other.'
'The Golden one was light, even a bit casual… It was holding a golden spear with a red cloth tied to it, if you were to ask her, then Artemis would say this was the lady's casual attire for when she wanted to relax outside.'
'The Black one was more armored, but the armor was hidden beneath some sets of flowing cloth… It looked regal as it held a beautiful sword.'
'She liked to use this one when leaving for more formal meetings.'
'While the white one, albeit made with a pure color seemed imposing, it held a powerful and wide double-headed axe.'
'She rarely used it, but made sure to polish and clean it on a weekly basis, it was her most important piece to only be used when she wanted to show off.'
'Albeit, the words she might choose would be... A bit fancier.'
'They had an intricate and unique design, it was reminiscent of Spartan Armor, albeit no one would understand if given the term… Only the Gods would understand what the word meant.'
'Above the three sets of armor, a shield with a face stood proudly on the wall, it was the emblem of the Athena Familia.'
'Without any doubts, this was Athena, one of the 3 Great Virgin Goddesses…'
'And the most brutal of the 3, known to be even stricter than Artemis as her methods to deal with her suitors were often…'
'Better not said in public…'
'Though, if you were to ask a God such as Hermes, he would share tales of the distant past when Hestia was a figure to be feared and respected when she was known for being even worse than Athena.'
'Thankfully, those were long, forgotten times, even for the Gods.'
"Sorry… It's just that…"
I screwed up, I wanted to leave so much I forgot decency...
'But Athena shook her head.'
"I know, I know, there is no need to beat around the bush."
I wasn't doing anything interesting either.
'Her gaze fell onto the book in Niccs hands, immediately understanding what this was about.'
'And her expression soured a little.'
"Did you finish what I requested of you?" She asked as she fixed her glasses in place
Were you that pressed to finish it? I didn't really give you a timeline...
As I thought, there was no stopping her.
"I… Yes, I did."
'Nicc caressed her book, she felt it was her child given how troublesome making it was...'
'Not that she understood the feeling.'
"It took some time, but I managed to organize and expand each of the entries I studied and catalog them into a book."
'She approached the table and put the book down so Athena could see it.'
"This is the first Volume, it encompasses the unique creatures I discovered on the Upper floors, it also contains other unique creatures that were spread in other books."
"My idea for this book was to make something containing all kinds of Unique creatures of the Dungeon, be they monsters or not…"
Though, in the end, I left out non-creatures from it.
I'll one day have to make an Extra Volume to talk about them, or update the original to add them.
I just currently don't have the will to add them also, though this make's the book's contents barely passable...
...
'She continued to speak about her book, meanwhile, Athena opened it with a nonchalant expression, going by the pages with a serious look until her eyes opened slightly in surprise.'
"You even added images, good work." She said with a small smile as she stopped flipping through the pages
"Ah… Those… I didn't make those…" Nicc replied with a slightly embarrassed expression
"Oh? In that case, did you add their creator's name to the contributors' section?"
"Yes… Yes, I did."
'Athena flipped the book, opening the last page to take a look at the area where the references and contributions had been cataloged…'
"..."
'But her expression turned a bit livid.'
'Because at the end, a name was written in golden ink...'
It's him again.
I… Sigh, I need to calm down, I can't keep doing this.
The reason I left that place was exactly because of this.
Children have the right to pursue whatever they wish, and my Familia is too big for me to be like Artemis... Or like I used to be.
'As she calmed down, Athena closed the book and said:'
"It looks incredible, it's all neatly organized, well done."
She's all grown up now, though I'm a bit disappointed she didn't stick to her ideals as much as she promised me when she was smaller...
Though... Mortals are like that.
She got the opportunity to study abroad like she always wanted to, but returned early because...
Because of a man.
"... I'll give it a quick read and send it to a reviewer, once the book is published, we can see how it goes from there, is that okay with you?"
'If the book goes well, there might be a possibility of increasing your Scholar Rank.' She thought to herself
"Of course!"
'Athena smiled before pulling a paper and writing something down.'
"..."
'But Nicc thought and thought before raising her head and saying with conviction:'
"I have been thinking…"
"You wish to leave the Familia temporarily to join Hestia's don't you?" Athena interrupted without even raising her head
"Ah…"
'Nicc was stunned.'
"H-How?..."
"It's too predictable, Child, your recent growth, the speed of your research, your intentions... They are all as clear as day to me."
"Even seen it all too many times to even count, this isn't new to me."
'Nicc's expression turned red, making Athena sigh.'
"In the past few months, you put more effort into your research and in your private life than the past few years combined."
"I'm happy that the little girl that used to spend several nights awaken to study is now taking better care of herself."
Even if this effort came for an impure reason.
"You graduated from an Apprentice and now you're even Level 2, your growth has been astounding."
"It wasn't hard for me to figure out the reason for it also."
"... So…?"
"You can go of course…" Athena said as she rolled her eyes
"Yes!..." She whispered to herself
"But I have a condition."
"..."
"As long as you promise me to not get in too much danger and to publish at least two books a year, then I'll allow it."
"T-two books?..."
That's a bit much, even with his help, it took me years of research to reach the point for me to get ready to write one…
It's not like I would need to go through all of it again, but many terms and specifics would need to be re-studied.
Perhaps I can do it, but I may be cutting it close.
"Is it too much for you?"
"No!"
'Athena looked at her eyes for a moment before switching her gaze back to her papers.'
"Then we're done."
"I…"
'She stopped to bow.'
"... Thank you for taking care of me."
"Hum… You make it sound as if you're leaving for good, you're making me jealous and nervous." Athena said with a smile as she stopped writing
Seeing children grow is such a joy, hopefully, she can grow and become the person she aspired to be... Albeit that is likely not going to happen.
She chose another path, one that will hopefully be even greater than the last.
I can only pray for her safety, she's old enough to make her own decisions now... It has been like that for a long while.
"No!" Nicc replied slightly embarrassed
'The two smiled and chuckle for a little while before Athena raised something concerning.'
"Before you go… There is something you should be aware of."
"Hum?"
"I am unsure if you know… No, you certainly don't know."
"You're making me concerned…"
"You should be." Athena said seriously as she got up from her chair
"The Hestia Familia… Is going to face some difficulties soon."
Considering his recent streak, it definitely won't end with this War game.
Child, if your determination to seek him out is strong, then whatever I'm about to say won't make you waver.
If you do...
"Huh?!"
…
/Step step…/
'Walking silently in the Dungeon, a red-haired woman made her way down into the forgotten territory that is the 59th floor.'
'She had no expression on her face as if she was a robot.'
'But she had something on her mind.'
Strong.
'Witnessing firsthand the final bouts of the fight between the Freya Familia and the Juggernaut, she quickly understood why they were so deeply respected aboveground.'
'And with it, she started to think of ways to face them, even if the possibility of such was unlikely.'
The four knights aren't a problem.
But the other four are.
The two sharp-eared humans and the cat boy are strong on their own.
I can tell I'm on the cusp of a change, but even if I were to become stronger than I am now, facing even one of them on my own may prove to be difficult…
The dark-skinned one has a very brutal form of swordsmanship, but it should be manageable.
The white-skinned is a magic caster, but his staff is shaped in a way that indicates he is experienced in close combat, he should be as capable as the first.
Lastly, the cat has a pretty direct but effective combat Style, to move fast and strike true, even for me, his movements were fast.
But if that is all he has, then defeating him wouldn't be a problem, though it would be foolish to believe that is all they have.
The bloodthirstiness in their eyes... They have seen death many times.
Yet, they can't compare to the big guy.
He possesses everything they have but more, defeating him is an impossibility in my current state, and I'm still uncertain if I would even last long if I were to change.
Even if the fetus was undeveloped, the strength of the resulting Demi Spirit was extreme, certainly, the highest we achieved so far… But it was defeated, the fight wasn't long, yet it was brutal.
Still, even then, when it fell, the group didn't seem that hurt.
They all have exceptional endurance and strength, to the point I believe luring them below is a risk.
If they had descended together with the Demi Spirit, then perhaps, by working together, they could've been brought down, but in their current state, if they descend…
'She squinted her eyes.'
Nevertheless, there's no point in thinking about this, they already left.
I should, however, focus on the Demi-Spirit.
Even if the overall qualities of the vessel were High, we have no use for Berserking beasts, albeit it's not like it's the first time the fusion resulted in a Berserk Demi-Spirit.
The Bull was also uncontrollable at the start, but different from this one, we had the means to contain it and grow our control over it, that one is... Impossible to contain.
At least with the resources we currently have.
I am also unaware of the creature utilized for its creation, I never saw anything like it before... It must be one of the experiments from those bastards.
Unfortunately, we had no time to interact with it… Neither can I say if I would've wanted to.
Perhaps if the fetus had fully matured before being fused then perhaps they would've died, and with the weakening of the Demi-Spirit, it may have been possible for me to control it.
Regardless, that is now a matter of the past.
"Strength... It's nowhere enough."
I'll have to consume more... An endless amount, to grow much further than I am now.
Otherwise, they'll devour me.
/Whispers…/
'A voice echoed in her mind, and she quickly grew annoyed.'
"Tsk."
For now, I need to find a way to have her shut up now that her "toys" left.
'The red-haired woman disappeared in the dark, leaving behind faint footsteps in the red sand.'
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Notes
That's about it.
Overall, it was a simple POV chapter, introducing Athena, and a bit more of the Red haired woman.
The way I went with Athena is that she used to be extremely strict, but just like all other Gods, she changed in the mortal world.
Upon noticing her extreme behavior was causing bad things to her followers, she changed places and came to Orario, trying to start again.
This time a bit more 'relaxed'.
Even so she is extremely contained, wearing long dresses, hiding her skin... But that doesn't mean she's shy, she is a brutal girl that will split your Skull if you were to peep on her.
Artemis would beat you up but there was a chance of you being alive at the end.
Hestia would like get angry too, but she isn't the same as when she used to be the Goddess of the fire, though if she gets angry enough, she might return to her old ways momentarily.
That's all from me for today, see ya!