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ZeroTheSoldier
Soguino
You are legends!
A.N I need to address something before I move on to this next chapter. Some have complained that the MC's actions are inconsistent with his intentions and sometimes his personality just completely flips. That is supposed to be the point. Chaos is the very personification of contradiction, and this affects him as its Host due to him being incompatible and incapable of mastering its power just yet.
I'd been hoping that this was something that people would recognize as the story goes on but unfortunately, due to SOME rather thick and rude people, I had to spoil it.
I just want to extend my sincere thanks to the people that have been supporting this story. It has reached over 1K collections and the views have jumped up. You guys are bloody legends all of you!
Anyway, enjoy!
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(General POV)
Several seconds went by as Freya stared intently at his blindfold, wishing to heaven that she could see how his eyes looked and whether or not he could actually see her own. She kept her charm on, focusing as much power into it as she could expend on a single person.
Everybody waited with baited breath for the results of what was going on. Because of the angle in which the two were positioned, no-one could actually see her face. But those who 'knew' her were well aware of exactly what she was trying to accomplish.
A few more seconds went by before Lyze raised an eyebrow.
"Are those glowing eyes meant to do something or what?"
Freya was suddenly thrown through a loop, her mouth hanging open slightly as she realized that the charm had no effect on him. At least now she knew that he could see with those eyes somehow under his blindfold if he could tell that her own were glowing.
But if he could see them, then he had to have succumbed to the same effects as all the rest. Yet right before her, in her own face, he just shrugged it off.
"Maybe I should wait a little more for the effects to continue or..." Lyze drawled on, thoroughly enjoying the look on her face. It was slightly reminiscent of the time Ishtar discovered that her charms couldn't effect Bell. But that was due to a side effect of an extremely rare skill.
Lyze had stated before that as the host of Chaos, he himself had side effects. One of those was complete resistance to poison and intoxication, hence why he could never get drunk, and why he may never need the 'Abnormal Resistance' development ability.
Another one of those side effects was immunity against trances, hypnosis, charms and sometimes illusions to a certain degree. He could not be trumped at something Chaos could easily triumph over. If he whipped off the blindfold now, he could trap her in a charm himself.
Except this one would warp reality itself to make the events of her trance real. But obviously for his safety, he wasn't going to do that. For now he could relish the feeling of getting one over this ambitious woman.
"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Came a scream from above them as Loki leapt over the banister and used her weight to deliver a hard bonk to Freya's head. The silver haired goddess shut her eyes and reared back her head, holding it in pain as she smiled wryly.
"Why hello Loki. It's not quite nice to greet someone like that in such a violent manner you know."
"You have no shame do you?!" Loki accused as she pointed a long sharp finger at her. She then hurriedly crouched down and enveloped Lyze in a tight clutch, mashing her cheek against his. "He's mine Freya, you hear?!"
"I was only testing his resolve Loki dear. There's no reason to get so upset."
"Testing his resolve! Do you think I was born yesterday? What part of charming him into your submission is testing his resolve?" Loki said as she frantically examined Lyze, slapping him lightly around the face as if trying wake him up.
"But isn't he supposed to be blind though?!" Questioned one of the partygoers.
"Stop that!" Snapped Lyze as he batted her hands away. "I'm fine. It didn't do nothing."
"Huh?!" Loki gasped in shock. Freya nodded.
"It's true Loki. Surprisingly, my charm did nothing to him." She said as she shrugged her shoulders.
Loki looked back at her child's face.
"Yep. Nothing at all." He replied.
"You sound like someone who's been charmed by her though!" Loki yelled in his face.
The response she got was fist crashing into her chin, making her see stars as she flipped over and onto her back dazed.
"Is this enough evidence to show I wasn't affected?" Lyze growled. "How many times have I told you not to shout in my face?"
"Just checking to see if it was really you. All part of the plan." Loki said, still on the floor as she held a thumbs up.
"Uh-huh..." He said as he looked away and folded his arms.
Loki then scrambled into a seating position and pointed at Lyze.
"Don't you understand the gravity of this situation? She just tried to charm you. That's how she gets adventurers to love her enough that they leave their Familia and join hers!" Loki yelled before gritting her teeth at Freya and growling oddly enough like a puppy.
"Is that so?" Lyze muttered before addressing Freya. "Sorry Lady Freya, but such underhanded methods won't work on me. You'll have to try a little harder if you want my attention that badly."
"...Certainly." Freya replied with a smile that for some reason Lyze was not all too comfortable with. She stared at him a little more, her eyes sparkling before she turned her head to where Loki was.
"You'd better keep your slimy fingers off of him you hear me Freya? Not one dainty little finger!" Loki said as she clenched her fists.
"I can't make no promises since your child has just openly challenged me Loki." Freya laughed slightly. "And you know I don't back down from a challenge."
"Why you-"
"Ladies, ladies. I believe that's quite enough now." A cool, relaxed voice said as someone approached their group. He was a tall man with blonde hair dressed in a white suit. His eyes were sharp and devious, and they held a calculating look in them. Trailing behind him was a tall girl with ash blonde hair in a lovely blue dress that had her arms locked with his.
"Why hello Hermes." Freya smiled. "I didn't know you were back so soon from your 'trip'."
Hermes chuckled. "I highly doubt that Freya. There isn't much that your eyes miss."
"Indeed." She replied a she made a pointed look at Lyze.
"I can see you!" Loki huffed at her before she turned to Hermes. "Yeah fine, hi, whatever. Just tell her to keep her hands off my Lyzie would you?"
"I could most certainly try, but I doubt that would do much good." Hermes shook his head. The girl behind him giggled too.
Hermes then had a look himself at the subject of this little feud. He noted that the boy seemed fairly young, not even having reached puberty yet by the shape of his face and the fairness of his skin.
But it seemed that it would not remain the case for very long. Give it another year or so, and the lad looked like he may reach puberty. The Messenger noted however the way the tiny suit pulled taught against the boy's frame. As thin as he was, the boy stood guarded ready for a fight.
Not necessarily as of one would happen now but as if it were a habitual thing. Lean muscles rippled underneath the coat, indicating a strong body underneath. This was no ordinary child for sure, especially if the rumours were to be believed.
"Nice to meet you young man." Hermes greeted him. "I am Hermes, the patron god of the Hermes Familia. Beside me is my captain Lydia." Lydia bowed.
"Nice to meet you as well. Lyzof Keele, newest recruit of the Loki Familia."
"And the most ambitious it would seem as well." Hermes murmured just loud enough for them to hear. "But to reiterate Freya's earlier question young man, I too would like to know how you accomplished such an amazing feat."
Lyze shrugged.
"I just kept on fighting. No matter how many times I was thrown, crushed, stepped on or punched, I kept on getting back up and dishing out attacks to the best of my ability until I felled the beast like a tree. Nothing more than the usual adventure."
"Except the usual level one newbie adventurer does not challenge a monster rex on their first dungeon run." Freya said. "And yet you somehow prevailed."
"Listen, you can speculate how I did it all you want. The truth is I myself don't know. I was busy focusing on getting out of there alive if you didn't realize."
Lyze genuinely still did not know how such a thing happened so none of the gods around could detect any lie.
"Hmm. Unfortunate." Hermes said in a resigning tone. "And here I was hoping that you could give us at least a bit of an insight."
"Hermes! I asked you to tell her to go away, not join her!" Loki said.
"But you cannot blame us dear. We have children too and we also would like to know he did it. You cannot fault us for being a little curious." Freya said.
"I can blame you for poaching you idiot!"
"And the pot calls the kettle black." Hermes chuckled.
"EXCUSE ME!"
While this was going on, Lyze slowly backed away from this spectacle already having lost interest. Arguments were never a fun thing to watch anyway, especially between adults that behaved like children.
This served for him only to bump into Ottar's hip, who'd managed to get behind him somehow. Lyze stared up in annoyance into the boar man's face. Ottar cocked his head to a table.
"A word and a drink? This may take some time." The man said gesturing over to the arguing party.
"Sure. Why not?" Lyze said flatly. Could he refuse?
The two left their respective goddesses behind with only Lydia noticing them walking away. Ottar led him over to a table where they sat in a couple of chairs. The table was laid out with various foods and meat dishes with a bowl of punch.
Ottar offered some to Lyze like a proper gentleman who graciously accepted. Lyze meanwhile whistled inside as he admired how Ottar could pull off the neat and respectable look in that old fashioned outfit of his with the baubles and the frills and the studded buttons when he usually looked like a street brawler without the tattoos.
They chewed in silence for few moments before Lyze mulled over something as he saw Ottar bite out of a few pork ribs.
"Uhm, not to be offensive or anything, but that is pig right?" He said pointing to the fork Ottar was holding, the rib meat stuck on the end.
"Yes?" Ottar said confusedly as he continued eating.
"Wouldn't that count as...you know...maybe a sort of cannibalism? Just wondering." Lyze added the last part hurriedly.
Ottar paused for a moment before holding the fork aloft and staring at the meat on his plate. He sat there staring at his meal for a few moments before lifting his head as a look of mild realization took over his features.
"Huh. Never actually thought about that." The Boaz said before going right back to eating. "You appear to think a little differently than others, don't you Lyzof Keele."
"Just call me Lyze, King. It gets annoying when people have to say my full name."
"King?"
"Yeah, King." Lyze said as confusion took over his face. "Isn't that what people call you?"
"No...but it doesn't sound bad." Ottar mused. "Anyway, I also wished to know how you did what you did."
"Come ooooon! I've alread-"
"I just want to understand what you did in those moments when facing down the monster rex. And while you were traversing the middle floors encountering all those monsters. Did they not pose a threat to you at all?"
"Well no, not really. Most of them were just a whole bunch of weaklings. I only started facing real competition when I began fighting Minotaurs." Lyze said as he crossed his arms.
"Minotaurs? At that level?"
"Yes."
Ottar already knew all of this having seen the events himself in his mistress's mirror. He merely wished to see the boy's approach to the subject.
"You must have had combat experience beforehand then if only a minotaur was the point where you started getting serious."
"I did. But that is a chapter of my life I would not like to revisit so please refrain from asking anything else. It's very personal."
"Very well." Ottar said as he eyed the boy from the side as he chewed. "You must have some great goal in mind."
"What?"
"For one so young to consolidate so much strength even before becoming an adventurer, and to delve so deep into the dungeon toe point others would call him mad for doing so, one can only assume that there is something you wish to achieve through all this. Am I correct?"
"Besides power which is the obvious tool I need, yes, I do have a goal."
"So power itself is not the goal then?"
"No." Lyze sighed. "It is simply the weapon I must wield in order to achieve my goal. That's all there is to it." He looked at his eating partner. "You seem to be awfully perspective yourself Ottar."
"I have been at this for a very long time now. Eventually you learn some things." Ottar said as he gulped. "I won't bother to ask what it is exactly you're aiming to achieve, but as one adventurer to another, your path will not be easy."
Lyze raised a brow.
"And why exactly are YOU giving me this pep talk?"
"We may be of the same generation, but there is still so much more for you to learn. The dungeon is not a playground. It is a literal pit of treachery and death. You will find no mercy from it. Just because you have accomplished so much already, perhaps so easily, do not think it will be the same and you can just power though all the levels.
If anything, approach with the expectation that because you achieved so much on your first run, your journey will only be that much harder than anybody else's, that the dungeon will try harder to kill you than your companions. Arrogance is the worst quality an adventurer can possess. It endangers them and their Familia."
"I'd say there's plenty of that in yours." Lyze said, irony seeping into his tone. "Why are you telling me this anyway? I'm not so 'blind' that I do not see the significance of my level up and my potential for my Familia. As each other's rivals, I'd expect that you'd want me dead more than anything else."
"It is BECAUSE you have that potential that I am telling you this. Whether we are rivals or not, we will leave matters such as that for he appropriate times. Powerful adventurers will only ever be a good thing for Orario as we serve as the city's shield against the dungeon. The more we have, the better."
Ottar gave him a hard stare. "You come to me and boldly claim that you will surpass me. I am warning you that the road is not going to be easy. I have sacrificed much to get this far, and I myself I am not going to let you take my place from me so easily as I too will strive to get even stronger than this. Things are easier said than done. You must prove to yourself before anyone else that you have what it takes to reach such a high level. That is the reason why I am imparting this wisdom to you."
"And this has nothing to do with the desires of your goddess?" Lyze asked sceptically.
Ottar remained silent for a moment before he breathed out and closed his eyes. "These are just my personal feelings. Nothing more, nothing less." The Boaz took a last sip of his punch before standing up and turning to look down at the boy. "I will be sure to test that resolve of your as well. The next time we meet, I should hope that you have the power and the skill necessary to back such ambition."
"I assure you that you will not be disappointed." Lyze replied. "I too am well aware of my own limits and the dangers of arrogance and overconfidence. But I NEVER run from a fight. If I must die, I'd rather go down fighting than just rolling over."
"Then I suppose it shall be up to me to teach how to know when to retreat then." Ottar said as he nodded. "Until then." He turned around and strode away to rejoin his mistress.
"Later." Lyze said as he was left with his own thoughts.
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