(General POV)
Lyze clenched the status sheet tightly in his hand. This most recent level up was no small achievement. Although he did not feel any different than he did before, he would need to fight again to get used to his new strength that came as a result of the level boost.
His mind wandered over to his most recent discovery. Was he seriously capable of stealing Excelia from other adventurers? Judging by the way Loki was grinning at him, it seemed to be the case, and it did not provide much comfort. On one hand, being able to do that was an assurance of a faster way to rank up. On the other, the part of him that counted as his warrior pride refused to accept the reality that his new strength may or may not have been the result of his own efforts.
He would have to experiment later on this...and if he was right...well, he wasn't sure where to go from there. It would certainly explain why he always seemed so energized whenever he used Force Lightning on another adventurer.
How would that even work anyway?
Nekros was the one who was an avid Star Wars fan, while Lyze only knew a few tidbits here and there and also the fact that the sequel trilogy was absolutely SHITE. Aside from that, he didn't know much.
What he did know was that Force Lightning was essentially just streams of life energy or life force or something like that...and Excelia was exactly the same! Or close enough at least. What if the lightning somehow disrupted the Excelia an adventurer gathered and split it from the Falna somehow? Excelia was after all life force absorbed from the many battles adventurers engaged in, hence why their lives were extended beyond the norms.
He'd once heard somewhere that level sixes could easily live beyond a few hundred years. The authenticity of that was debateable since no adventurer had ever lived long enough to confirm as they were all eventually overcome by the dangers of the dungeon. As far as he knew, the only adventurer that had lived for centuries was Fels and that was just due to some experiments that the skeleton had undertaken when he was still flesh and bone.
But even if he had somehow manged to tear out Excelia from an adventurer's Falna, how was HE absorbing it?
During his musings he noticed the new skill at the bottom of the page.
{Cratus}
"What does this skill do?" He asked as he pointed towards Loki.
"Oh, it's just a skill that boosts your physical strength by a great degree temporarily." Loki said. "I'm not sure exactly how strong, but I believe it's a lot."
'And it emerged at the same time as I won the Golden Breastplate.' Lyze thought as he rubbed his chin. His theory was correct; with every piece of the Golden Armour he obtained, he seemed to gain a new corresponding skill.
Although what was with the Greek names? Cratus was another name for Kratos, who happened to be known as the Greek divine personification of strength in ancient mythology. He doubted there was any reference to a particularly famous game anywhere here. Loki seemed to share the idea.
"Seriously, why do you have these Olympian names?" Loki asked as she rubbed the back of her head. "Were you meant to join one of their Familias or something?"
"No idea." Lyze said as he stood up. "In any case, I better go check up on the girls and get used to my new strength before our expedition comes up."
"You're not going back to the Dungeon are you?" Finn asked warningly.
"No." Lyze replied. "I'm probably going to take a break from the dungeon altogether anyway. Every time I go down there I seem to just run into situations I just really can't afford to deal with."
"Yes." Riveria said. "It is pretty apparent by now that you are a magnet for trouble. Not a day goes by without something happening and you just happen to be at the centre at it." She gave him a pointed stare.
"I can't be that bad, right?" Lyze tried to reason.
"You are." Everyone else seemed to chorus.
"Tch. Whatever." Lyze waved them off. "I'll be going now. See you at dinner."
Lyze began making his way over to the door as he let the parchment float back into Loki's hands. Just before he could leave though, Finn stepped in his way. Lyze held his arms out questioningly as he grew confused at the Captain's sudden intervention. Finn inspected Lyze up and down before he snapped his fingers.
"Okay, now I KNOW I'm not imagining it!" The Pallum explained. "You are DEFINITELY a couple of inches taller all of a sudden."
"I am?" Lyze questioned as he looked down at the Pallum. Now that he thought about it, Finn's face did seem a little farther away than it was before. Where there used to only be about half a foot of difference between them, now there was nearly a complete foot difference in both their heights.
"Maybe Mama Mia's food is magic after all?" Loki cheerfully suggested. "Speaking of, why don't we all go there to celebrate Lyzie's new level up!"
"NO!" Lyze said immediately. "We were only there a few nights ago and you created such a mess Loki that I think the only thing stopping Mama Mia from throwing us out was it being my birthday celebration." Lyze turned around his tunic appeared over his upper half in a purple flash of magic. "We'll do without this time."
"Oh come on!" Loki moaned. "Since when did you ever decide to not have a bit of fun?"
"Since you threw up over my cloak after I finished my song on my birthday night Loki." Lyze replied as the other two grimaced at that particular memory. The cloak had ended up burnt by the boy afterwards. "You only have yourself to blame."
"MAMA!" Loki whined to Riveria. "Lyzie's being mean to me again!"
"Call me that again and I'll make sure you never get a taste of alcohol ever again." Riveria said dangerously as she lifted her staff threateningly. Loki backed down, sensing that the elf was not in the best of moods at the moment. With all that had happened so far, it wasn't a far fetch to assume.
"I'm off." Lyze said as he opened the door. "Later."
"Wait Lyze." Finn called after him. "You said that you planned to acclimate to your new power. How exactly are you planning to do that?"
"Not sure yet. I'll figure something out." Lyze said as he closed the door. That was a complete lie. He knew exactly how he was going to get used to his newfound strength.
It was time to pay Freya a visit, for more than just a spar with Ottar. But before he did that, he decided to check in on Ais. Unfortunately, she did not open her door when he knocked, which indicated she was still asleep.
Lili had expressed a wish not to be disturbed as she recovered from her trauma so checking in on her was out of the question. Lyze supposed that that left him the rest of his day free. It was still relatively early in the afternoon.
Perhaps, going to the guild to fill out a new report wasn't a bad idea. It saved him from having to do it later...but then they gave him such a hassle last time as well. Not to mention he was also feeling hungry all of a sudden.
Perhaps getting something to eat first was a good start.
---
(Lyze POV)
One would think that levelling up was an occasion to be happy about and undoubtedly, many adventurers did celebrate such a feat. But in all honesty, while I was a little bit more optimistic, I wasn't all smiles and sunshine about it.
The reason being was that I'd had a taste of true power more than once. I knew I was exceptionally powerful for an adventurer of my level. For one thing, Levelling up on triple S stats was bound to give me a massive edge on adventurers one level higher than me. I felt confident in my ability to take out a level 4 without the need of my power-ups.
Another reason for my dampening of my mood was the other thoughts plaguing my mind that circled around the events of the day. I so desperately wanted to kill Phryne and end the bitch's existence once and for all.
The moment I'd descended upon her in the Dungeon, it was like all her power had left her. She was unable to stand up to me as I fell on her with a fury that carried the weight of an entire ocean. Each of her axe swings were just nonchalantly batted aside as I carved up her body bit by bit.
The most satisfying part of all had been when I was messing her face up. The hag was so drowned in her own vanity that even when I was clearly aiming to take her life and had the capacity to do it, she still bemoaned the loss of her 'beautiful face'. For that alone I ripped out one of her beady toad eyes.
It was that fury however, the pure sadistic part of me that was...I wouldn't say troubling me but it definitely had me questioning things. Why had I reacted that way? As much as I inevitably may have done the exact same thing to the toad, I had only felt those venomous emotions well up in me the moment I realised what she had done to Ais.
My heart suddenly lurched into my throat and I was drowned in a sense of trepidation, fearing and hoping that Ais was still alive. At that moment I lost sight of my adversary and focused solely on securing Ais's safety first. It had been the spirits inside of Excalibur that lobbed off the bitch's arm, not me. All I'd been focused on was getting Ais into my arms.
And then came the news about what happened to Lili. The Pallum girl was shaking and traumatised at what had happened that she wouldn't even pick up her pack nor even speak. She seemed happy that Ais and I were safe and sound but she conveyed little else. When I discovered who the perpetrator was, those murderous feelings came ushing back.
Not even Zanis Lustra had made me so hateful and that man had been the one of the main reasons I had such a terrible childhood in this world. There could only be one answer. I was not a dense MC protagonist sort of person who took ages to figure out the answer.
Attachments.
I had become attached to this world, an inevitability I had hoped Nekros had been wrong about but even I could not deny it. Somehow, someway, those two girls had wormed their way into my heart and I prioritised them over most other things. Perhaps it was the way they seemed to be reliant on me.
Ais was always by my side whenever I was home, or if we passed each other in the dungeon, she would stick with me until she could not go to the middle floors. And Lili had seemed to take me as an older brother. It was certainly a surprise when she began to call me that, but something told me there was more meaning behind it. Every time she said it, I detected a hint of vulnerability beneath her (seemingly forceful) cheery exterior.
In my past life I had always wanted a little sister. Seeing other guys my age cherish their kid sisters and spoil them like princesses, or even just seeing protective older brother types on screen like Tanjiro, Akuru or even Tatsuya (the dynamics of that last one was a tad bit disturbing though) made me wonder what it was like. There was no doubt I was happy with my life that I shared with my mother but I often mused over the possibility of having someone else share in it with us. Mum had never shown an inclination to get remarried so I guess I never got the chance to find out what it was like to have a little sister to dote on.
Did the loss on that experience explain why I was so fiercely protective of the Pallum who now seemed to look up to me to protect her?
It's like those two had made me their chosen person to go to and depend upon. Maybe not so much Ais as Lili but those two definitely seemed keen on being around me more than anyone else. I had assumed that Ais's fad with me would be over, and although I would credit my ballistic stat growth for why it was not at its end, Ais's interest in me was as strong as the day we met and perhaps stronger now.
More than that was...why had I reacted more violently towards Ais being injured than Lili? Why did I not bother to chase the Astraea Familia down before they could deliver the vermin to the authorities and skewer him through the heart with Excalibur? Was it because I'd been carrying the golden beauty in my arms at the time, or because I didn't want to create any more tension between me and the captain after he stopped me from landing the finishing blow?
There was no doubt that Finn's mannerisms indicated he was wary of me again. And for good reason because now he knew that I had a power in reserve which would put me on the approximate level of the Familia's executives. And the dark connotations that came with the Demon form provided little comfort I guessed.
Beyond that, somehow I had obtained the Swordsman ability at H. I knew my sword work was good but...holy hell! To skip 'I' rank altogether. Let me put it in perspective. Canon level 6 Ais had the Swordsman ability at H, and she was one of the strongest adventurers around. Even if she was still easily overcome by Ottar, her skill with a blade was no joke.
Noir did often say that the few things I was lacking was experience and raw power. And if I could get that ability to rank up with each time I levelled up too? Well, just how much more formidable would I become?
Hunter had ranked up as well so I guess I could say goodbye to a challenge from any monsters I'd previously fought before. That included monster rex Goliath too. As I walked I pulled out Claw's tail barb from my inventory and examined it. I didn't find a drop item from Soltra and if there was one, I'd have to go down and find out but the foreign beasts were still greatly troubling. The fact that I'd encountered two of them definitely meant the other four were somewhere in the Dungeon.
I had to admit I was greatly anticipating completing the collection the golden armour. The 7 year old bookworm inside of me (from my past life) was just bursting with excitement at being able to possess what at the time I had assumed to be the coolest armour ever. I mean gold was a bit over the top and pompous but I wouldn't mind owning the set. Throw in a black cape and Excalibur and I would look awesome if I was someone who orientated around roleplay.
I just didn't like that the Beasts were popping out of nowhere and getting the jump on me. If I analysed both battles, the two Beasts had appeared in their ideal locations. Claw was a giant monkey who was at his most dangerous in a jungle/forest type area, and I had met him in the forest of the safe zone. Soltra was a petrifying charmer who liked to dwell in places with heavy mists like bogs or marshes, and I had met her in the thickest misty zone of the twelfth floor.
Was it a safe bet to assume that I would meet the other Beasts in places of the dungeon akin to their homelands in the books I used to read? If that was the case, then I was yet to fight a giant squid, a two headed snake man, a spider the size of an elephant and a three headed Nemean lion. But the order in which the original protagonist of their universe fought them was not consistent with mine, so what was the guarantee that their environments would be?
For one thing, I was pretty sure a desert had not yet been discovered in the dungeon.
I lifted a hand to my head and squinted due to the ache. I really could live without these extra worries hanging over my head. Seeing that my feet had taken me to the guild to fill out yet another report, my mood was arguably no better than before.
There was already an increasing number of unknown quantities in this universe now that I was in it. How many more would I encounter before I was ready to dust my hands of this world?
The silent swirling of Chaos within my soul provided no answers.
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