(General POV)
"Honestly, this place looks like an absolute shithole." Lyze said as he stared up at the wooden sign and the through the wooden gateway into the 'Adventurer's city' of Rivira. In the anime it hadn't looked like much to begin with but in real life, it just looked like one big fire hazard.
Like literally, Lyze felt that all he needed to do was set a singular house on fire and the whole city would just burn down. It reminded him of those very rural, third world villages where there was no electricity or water and people just lived there impoverished.
It was hard to believe that this was a place officially registered as a city with quite a few adventurer's living in it instead of on the surface. What made him compare it to third world countries even further was how there was absolute garbage for sale with ridiculously high prices. At the very least it was four times more than what he would have to pay back in Orario.
"Disgraceful." He sniffed as they trudged through the streets.
"Chin up lad." Dain said as they walked side by side. "It ain't as bad as it looks. For one thing the drinks here are way better."
"In what way?" Lyze raised his eyebrow.
"Well it's easier to get hammered on that stuff. It's real drink for real men." Dain's hairy mouth stretched even further as he smiled. "It's the thing I look forward to most when I come down here."
"So I'm assuming the intoxication is above the legal limit?" Lyze asked.
Believe it or not, there actually was a regulation in Orario on how strong certain beverages could be made. It was controlled by the Guild's department of agriculture which regulated the crop yields of the Demeter Familia among other things. One of them was checking food quality and production and however they measured the level of intoxication that alcohol could provide, there was a legal limit to the strength of drink.
This fact had completely blown Lyze's mind as this was the kind of law he expected from the modern civilization. But when you took into account that there were literal superhumans running around with numerous abilities that could bend iron bars and jump 100 feet in the air and sometimes run at the speed of sound, damage control must be really hard when said individuals are drunk. Therefore it made sense that people were forced to use their brains earlier and impose these kinds of laws.
But that was on the surface. It was a well known fact that down in Rivira, a lot of liberties were taken and some not so legal things went on under the nose of the city's leader, Bors. Not outright crimes (although that happened too) but he was quite laidback over some things. After all, he and his men were pretty much scruffy ruffians themselves, just nice ones that made sure there was order in the makeshift city.
"That doesn't matter down here lad." Dain said. "Good booze is good booze. Doesn't matter if it makes you a little louder than normal."
"I'm not sure a Familia elder should be talking like that." Lyze said. "But then again, what can you expect from an addicted man. This is why I really hate alcohol."
"I don't understand that about you Lyze." Noir who was walking behind them said. "Why do you not like alcohol? And even if you don't, you drank quite a lot of it on 'that' night."
"I was drinking all of that to win you gambling money. And I don't like alcohol because it's just not my thing." Lyze muttered under his breath. "I'd really very much prefer a cup of tea any day. Anyway even if I did, what's the point? It's impossible for me to get drunk so I will never get the full experience."
"A shame." Dain shook his head. "You'll miss out on some really good stuff in life kid. I pity you."
"Save your pity for when you wake up dangling by your underwear outside the pub." Lyze grumbled.
"Is that a threat?"
"It's a possibility considering how much you dwarves drink. One day, someone might just end up doing that to you."
"They'll find this in their face if they even try." Dain held up a tightened fist. The Dwarven race were known for having exceptional physical strength compared to other races. The only other that was either of equal footing or stronger was the Boaz race, hence why it made sense why Ottar was seen as a symbol of physical strength.
Thinking of the Boaz put Lyze in a better mood. In all honesty, he really liked the silent boar-man. Ottar was humble, calm and collected but packed a ferocious punch when the time called for it. The only way to flip that personality of his was to behave disrespectfully towards Freya but Lyze had talked down to her several times in front of the man and Ottar had done nothing.
It showed the deep level of respect they had for one another, and he was also very instructive when it came to their spars. Lyze made up his mind to go and stay with the Freya Familia for a bit in order to subject himself to the same training that Ais received in canon. The Boaz had a lot of experience in adventuring and fighting, so his regimen was harsh but yielded a lot of rewards when at a low level.
It was hard to explain but there existed an understanding between the two. Lyze wasn't sure how much of his secrets Ottar actually knew but he had no trouble if it was Ottar. He could be trusted to keep his mouth closed.
Then there was Freya herself. While he never forgot about her negative traits, he found her fun to be around as the two conversed about a lot of things. Particularly about her past when she had come down around the same time as Zeus and Hera and how the two crones had abused her powers to bolster their own little armies.
For her sake, Lyze would give Zeus a good kick right up the ass when he saw him, if he ever saw him. Lyze also had plans to travel again soon sometime after this expedition was over. The ever looming threat of the Great Feud hung over him and there were things he wished to sort out before the war came.
Finally the Familia came to stop before the 'city hall' where Finn instructed everybody to find places to stay for the night as the smiths that had come with them had business to do in Rivira while Finn had to sort out paperwork. That left Lyze to roam around as much as he liked. But before he could leave to do his own thing, a large hand clamped down on his shoulder and Lyze found himself face to face with a large muscular man that had an eyepatch over a scarred eye.
"So you're the one, eh?" Bors asked him in as friendly of a voice as it could get from him.
"I'm the one what?" Lyze asked.
"The famous prodigy that everyone's been talking about, the one from the Loki Familia that broke the level up record in a day and then levelled up again just three weeks later." Bors smiled. "I was talking about you with Shakti of the Ganesha Familia the other day and she confirmed the rumours. But I wasn't ready to believe it until I saw it for myself." Bors leaned in closer to Lyze's face. "So spill the bens kid. How'd you do it?
"Calm down Bors." Finn said as he walked up to them. "Lyze is not appreciative of anybody that gets the close in his personal space."
"Come on. The lad doesn't mind." Bors looked down at the boy. "Right?"
Lyze merely lifted a hand towards Bors' own that was placed on his shoulder and with a casual flick, sent the older man's hand flying off. Bors clutched his hand as he hissed in pain from nearly having his metacarpals shattered. But rather than take offense, Bors' hisses became chuckles as he grinned at the boy.
"It's just as they say, you are really strong." Bors looked back at Finn. "You lot got lucky there."
"Yes, but he's just as much trouble as he is good reputation." Finn shook his head although there was a slight fondness to his tone. He looked up at the boy and ushered him away. "Go on Lyze, go explore the city and enjoy yourself. Just don't wander too far away."
"You got it." Lyze said as he bowed slightly to the large man. "Nice to meet you Elder Bors."
"Same here." Bors replied as jovially as he could, watching the boy walk away. As soon as Lyze was no longer visible, he turned to Finn with frightened eyes. "How the hell is he that strong?! I know he's level 3 but there's no way he's that strong already!"
"Believe me if I knew the answer, I'd tell you." Finn sighed. "Or maybe not since that would be a Familia secret. But even so, Lyze is one giant mystery that causes me a headache to try and decipher. The only way I cope with it is just by ignoring him and leaving him to his own devices. Whatever situation he finds himself in, he manages to get out of it somehow. Now let's leave him alone for the time being and speak about other things."
And so the two adults entered the Bors' office to talk about business related things. Things which are too important and official to be given details of. While they went on, Lyze explored the adventurer's city.
---
Walking through it was like walking through a poor wet market in Africa. The stalls had scruffy, unfriendly looking people behind them who didn't seem to make an effort to draw people to their wares. It was as if they would only take business from anyone who saddled up to them and handed money over.
It wasn't like they sold good stuff. Most of it was just second-hand stuff or people's leftovers. Very rarely would you find anything of notably any good quality. Such as one stall that had an urn of the now extremely rare Soma Wine.
Seeing that urn brought him back to the laws on alcohol regulation. The one who had actually relayed them to him was Mama Mia whom he ate with regularly now. On a side note, she appeared to want to stuff him as much as possible with food. Of course she was not discreet about expecting the full price for those meals even if it were at her own insistence. The upside to it was that the meals she gave him looked to be made with extra love and care.
It was over some of her home-made mead and she'd questioned why she'd never seen him get tipsy over what he drank as a child should not have as much endurance as he did. It led on to her semi-ranting about all the regulations she had to follow and the taxes she had to pay on all of the booze she stocked.
Naturally that brought the legality of Soma Wine into light and the law apparently only applied to establishments where food was served. The real Soma Wine was consumed only by their Familia members and what got into the hands of the public was their failed products which were addictive all the same.
Those were sold in illicit places where not much attention went. While it wasn't exactly legal, it was not incriminating either but it was a death sentence if a restaurant like Mama Mia's were to sell it. So it was sold in other places you wouldn't usually go to buy alcohol. Which made him remember how Loki and Riveria found a casket of the stuff in a bookstore of all places in the anime.
Even now Loki was fishing around for as much as she could find before they inevitably ran out as the Soma Familia would no longer be producing anymore anytime soon. She'd also been quite affectionate lately as well. Before they could embark on their expedition, Loki had held onto his legs, crying about how he was growing up so fast. Obviously this annoyed him so he made a not so subtle reference to her chest in saying the she'd never grown up all followed by a swift uppercut that knocked her out.
Even Mia seemed to be caring more about his wellbeing lately, always asking him what kinds of food he'd not eaten before visiting her and serving him based on the answer. Sometimes it would be fish dishes full of protein, or it would be salads for fibres, that and the like. She'd also become protective.
With his fame as a record breaker came also the negative attention such as those who were jealous of him and tried to intimidate him wherever he went. Most of the time he would just have to put them to sleep but a foolish pair had confronted him right outside the Hostess. And out came the large dwarf woman with a murderous glint in her eyes, tapping a comically large rolling pin in her hands.
Her reputation preceded her and the sight had set the two running home at the best speed their legs could afford them. He didn't know what it was with every mother figure around suddenly being concerned over him but he welcomed the good things that came with it.
Eventually he managed to catch sight of Ais who was walking in the opposite direction, munching on potato snacks she'd found from some stall. Lyze rolled his eyes fondly and walked up to her wondering exactly how much she'd been ripped off for it.
The two exchanged greetings silently as Ais always prioritised finishing her snack before talking and she began following wherever he was going. They both walked until they reached a sort of square where there were mediocre benches set up for people to sit down, so they opted to rest there while Ais finished her snack.
"Do you like the adventurer town?" Ais finally asked when she finished the last fried snack.
"Meh. It's alright." Lyze said. "Considering all the hype around it, I don't really see anything special about it. It looks like it could go up in flames at any moment with a well lit fire."
"It has happened before." Ais said. "Riveria said that this place has been rebuilt hundreds of times because of it always being destroyed by monsters or criminals.
'Well if I remember correctly, there is a pantry somewhere on this floor if Sword Oratoria holds true.' Lyze thought.
A pantry was a dedicated area in a dungeon where monsters would go specifically to feed on things. That included other, weaker monsters and any unfortunate adventurer's that found themselves tangled up in there. Or at times, depending on the monster itself, it could be one of the native fruits.
Lyze had never been this deep into the 18th floor so he'd never gone looking for it. But perhaps he should, maybe to lay a trap down for the future. He doubted any Creatures or Jewel Fetuses were being created at the moment since those had come after the Great Feud when Enyo who was Dionysus in disguise began developing them in order to create a global Orgia of suffering and pain for his own sadistic pleasure of seeing the mortal realms burn and the oceans run red with blood.
He was one hell of a sadistic bastard.
Upon suddenly remembering this crucial detail, Lyze almost slapped himself. He'd been so focused on canon events that he'd forgotten to pay more attention to the countless side stories that existed within the franchise.
He hadn't thought to also prepare for Dionysus's schemes when he eventually would take over Evilus and reshape it in his image to do his bidding. A comfort was that he knew Filvis was not serving under him. Although Lyze would have to make sure that the events that broke her did not happen either. And the simple solution would be a pre-emptive killing of the one who broke her. That old geezer was nowhere in Orario though to Lyze's knowledge. He would have to come after the Feud.
Yes, the pile on Lyze's plate had suddenly grown much larger. However, he did not spare a second in working on it when he could. He'd already laid a trap on this floor in preparation for the seven day war on one of his many solitary dives. Now to see if he could do anything about that pantry...
"Lyze." Ais said. "Can we spar?"
"Now?"
"Yes. I want to learn how you become stronger."
"Didn't we talk about that last night? We know each other's motivations, so what more would you seek from me?"
"It was motivation last night. But I still don't know HOW you do it."
"So you figure that just from fighting me you'll realize what it is?"
"Mhm."
"...I don't think that's as easy as it sounds." Lyze shook his head before he remembered something from last night and he snapped towards her. "Ais, remember what you did to me in the tent last night?"
"The kiss?"
"Y-yes. The kiss. Whatever Aki tells you to do, don't do it okay?"
"Why not?"
"Because all she does is try to get us into trouble or awkward situations. If Riveria knew what you did, we'd both get an earful along with an hour's worth of lectures and scolding. When that moggy tells you something, you come straight to me and tell me what she says, okay?"
"Okay?" Ais hesitantly nodded, still feeling confused. Lyze looked flustered for reason she could not decipher. "But Aki is not a bad person."
"But she is a lazy idiot. She stole your potato croquette remember?"
Ais's eyes narrowed as she remembered the incident. "I change my mind, she is a bad person."
"Why are you so simple?" Lyze shook his head before chuckling and patting her hair. "But that's one of the things I find cute about you."
A strange feeling bubbled up in Ais's stomach and she flushed a little, while involuntarily leaning into his hand. She did love his head pats. And it was only his. Anyone else was just annoying, especially Loki.
Lyze took out Excalibur from it's hiding place and walked to the middle of the square. "So you wanted a spar did you?"
Before he could fully turn around, green winds along with the tip of a sharp blade were almost in his face. But having grown used to her surprise attacks at this point simply parried it with his own blade. The impact of both weapons sent Ais blowing back on her feet. She righted herself before realizing that her hand was shaking and numb from the blow. The tremors began running up her arm to her shoulder as the pain kicked in.
His simple block was so strong and steady, her own efforts had bounced right back at her along with his own deliverance. She looked at him in slight trepidation as she tried process this. Lyze didn't even seem remotely concerned nor did it seem that it had taken any effort on his part to defend against her.
His strength had truly changed drastically in just a few days. While this was going on, they both didn't realise that the square was now void of other people, leaving them alone in their duel.
"You know..." Lyze said. "I'm able to use wind magic same as you."
"Right?"
"And just like you Ais, I also have a skill related to wind."
"...I didn't know that." Ais said confused. "I thought it was part of your special magic like Riveria described."
"True, but it's also skill related. Yours is called Tempest. You know what mine is called?"
Ais shook her head. Lyze smiled and raised Excalibur in both hands and pointing it upwards to the ceiling.
"It's also called {Tempest}."
A gust of dirt coloured wind began blowing around Lyze in a clean circle as it rose from the ground and gradually becoming a small tornado. Although sharing the same name, both skills had different constructs. Ais's winds were green and covered her like a dome while Lyze's were full of dust and grit which formed a wall around him. But both were defences and both could grant one thing to it's wielder.
Speed.
"Let's see which 'Tempest' is the better one shall we Ais?" Lyze said as he pushed more of his will into the winds around him and they blew faster. Knowing how competitive she was especially when mimicked, Lyze goaded her.
And she took the bait. Without another word, she was upon him, Desperate flashing around him as it met with strikes from Excalibur and Lyze began expertly weaving around her sweeps while subtly guiding her along to make her aim and her technique better. It was how they bonded best after all, especially when they both knew how much they shared in common.
Bit by bit, the weightiness in both their hearts was eased as they bonded, kindred souls, similar goals. United in a yearning for strength, to be the best of themselves they could be, uncaring of what it would take to get there. Both understood that as long as they were alive, and they had allies, they would reach their objectives unimpeded.
This was the beauty of their beginning, and what the two would go on to share in their futures as they looked back on these times. But that is a story for another day.
---
So engrossed both were in their bout, they did not realize doors opening in the buildings around them and shady looking characters peering out on the streets to see if the coast was clear. Only to find two children engaged in 'play' as it seemed.
Undeterred by the sight, these people emerged fully in their cloaks and their tanned armour, ready to move with their objectives and eliminate all who would witness them.
Beginning with those very two children. It was only until they had fully stepped into the small square that they entered the range of 'Thread' and Lyze picked up on them.
The first of unexpected trials in the Dungeon of which Nekros had spoken of, had begun.
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