(Oberon POV)
"It's just a coincidence; there is no way that is possible..."
After leaving in a hurry, Oberon was consumed by fear, which made him lose any calm expression he had, and he saw that people were all staring at him, but he did not pay any attention to them.
Then I took a rest on a park bench sit on the park to calm myself I felt my heart rate go up because of the panic that I felt. I tried to think more clearly about what I saw I tried to remember every other way to explain Hephaestus's eye curse. It does not look terrible or anything it's just that the eyes have crystal-like around the pupil and her eyes area, the most troubling is the crystal color.
'It looks the same as the disease that destroyed my life and family of my previous life …'
The only way to cure such a disease is to use detoxification magic at the god level. To cast it, it needs a lot of chant time and a large amount of mana.
("Orstrid, can I cast god-level magic Detoxification?")
Orstrid pauses for a moment and has a deep thought before answering Oberon's question.
("On current level, yes, but master it will end up making master past out.")
'Hm, it's too risky after casting that spell, then pasting out…. I either increased my mana capacity or decreased the use of mana in that spell with the use of some kind of magic stone….'
("I suggest master try to level up from what I learn Falna can increase the mana or mind capacity of the adventurer master.")
Then I look at Orstrid with amazement. Then I stood up and put my hand on her shoulder.
"You are brilliant, Orstrid."
Whenever my mind was not thinking clearly, she was always the one who gave me brilliant advice. Oberon is well aware that he must understand that to level up, he must gain Excelia, and for that, he must kill a lot of monsters.
"I think I need to update my status to learn how much Excelia I gained from yesterday's dungeon dive."
Yesterday Loki went to meet with some gods and goddesses to discuss the security of Orario with Captain Finn because we are one of the strongest Familia in Orario. We partake in the secure Orario, which is why my training with Bara has not yet started.
"I agree, master."
"Okay, let's head back to the manor."
----
"Oh, Oberon, welcome back."
When I arrived at the entrance of the gate, I was welcomed by one of the guards. We know each other when we interact with each other at my birthday or my welcoming party.
"Thank you, Arc-san, Is goddess Loki back yet?"
"Yes, she is already back from her meeting."
"I see, Arc-san, and thank you for your hard work."
Then I head to her room. When I arrive at her room, I knock first.
"Who is it!?"
"It's me, Oberon."
Then I can hear someone just sprinting toward the door.
((THUD))
"Come in, Oberon; I have been expecting you."
'Why is she so fired up?'
"Oh, thank you."
When I surveyed the room, I was expecting to meet the captain.
"Finn is right now on a mission to escort the goddesses Artemis and Iduun. We are pretty busy because there are many gods and goddesses who want to partake in Denatus. Thank someone for firing powerful magic and sending a god to heaven. I wonder what she or he is doing right now, Kukuku."
While Loki said that he stole a glance at me a bit, I tried to keep my expression as normal as possible.
"Thank you for having me, Goddess Loki. The reason I came here is because I want to update my status."
"Sure, take off your shirt and lay there."
I follow Loki's order, take off my top clothes, and lie down on the bed. After that, Loki rode my back for a few minutes. She went silent. Normally, it should start now.
"Hey, Oberon, can I ask something?"
I could feel her voice changing—not the playful voice that I always heard.
"Sure, I will answer the best I can."
"Why did you hide so much from us? I know you never lied to me or Riveria, but I can feel that you always told us half the truth because you know that we gods can tell when mortals lie…. As a goddess of tricksters, it demands that I know if someone lied or not. I know you have no means to harm anyone, but I am just so curious why a person as powerful as you feared your secret being discovered by others."
Riveria did tell me that Loki may look like a careless goddess before Riveria told me that she was dangerous. I know the reason she plays stupid in front of others, but every one of her actions was well thought out and planned. I did know because she managed to become one of the most influential goddesses in Orario.
"The reason why I keep most of my secrets is to protect the people that I care about, goddess Loki; that's all I can say."
"So the reason you want power is to protect the people you love... I know you will become far stronger than I can even imagine..."
Then she started to use the knife she had to cut open a wound. She dropped a single piece of blood on my back, and bright light engulfed the room while Orstrid stood closely watching.
"Kukuku… what a monster that I recruit," Loki stated.
Then she put a piece of paper on my back, and I could feel like she was writing something using her finger. After that, I felt like someone had just hugged me back. I knew it was Loki herself.
"I know you still don't trust me, Oberon, but I did trust you… I did know what happened in the dungeon from Alicia's report. You are not selfish and did not let your group face any danger before you did. The Evilus member that you killed was a level 3 max adventurer. You managed to slash his troth open in an instant…"
Then she releases her embrace, and then she hands me a paper. In there, I can see my new stats being updated by her.
==========
Oberon Aendryr Wishe
Level : 1
STR: C 550
END: C 480
DEX: D 600
AGI: D 400
MAG: B 800
Magic : Eyes of Dingir,
Skill :
===========
I did learn about Excelia through the action of killing a monster. When we are in the dungeon, I use my blade more than magic, but somehow my magic stat is the most gained Excelia, and I did use the gravity bracelet to increase my weight as a way of training my strength and endurance.
"With this phase, you can probably level up in less than a week, Oberon… I believe it's not the only reason you want to meet me here, right?"
"Yes, I want to ask your permission to go to the dungeon for two days, goddess Loki… I want to level up."
Then Loki takes on a glass that is filled with whine that has a very distinct smell.
"Hm, sadly, right now the other member is busy, Oberon."
"There's no need; just me and Orstrid were enough."
I can see that Loki flinches a bit. Loki went silent for a bit before giving him an answer.
"I don't doubt your ability, but there is 'but' Riveria will not be pleased if I let you go to the dungeon alone with Orstrid."
"I know, but I have to do this, goddess Loki… If I didn't, I would leave with great regret."
"…. Sigh, what a troublesome child. Okay, I will let you go to the dungeon with Orstrid with some conditions..."
Then Loki opened her eyes to watch me with a serious glare.
"Never EVER! Go deeper than 23 floors."
From the 1–12 floor count as the upper floor, most floors were safe for beginners because the monster number and strength can be handled by level 1-2 adventurers, and from the 13–24 floor was the middle floor where the monster became stronger and larger in number and size. The 25–36 floors were completely different levels. I did read that there was a monster that was impossible to kill if you were not on a certain level.
"I know, goddess Loki, the lower floor is dangerous. I promise I will not go to the lower floor."
"Good, I will wait. If you are not coming back two days from now, I will make sure you are punished hard for that."
After that, I put on my shirt, and I want to ask Loki to update Orstrid's stats, but I can't ask Riveria for help right now.
"Ah, I forgot when you arrived at 18, Say hi to Gareth; he is one of Loki Familia's executive members after all."
"Sure, goddess Loki, then see you in two days."
----
I went to my room to equip my armor, a couple of healing scrolls, and a potion for emergencies. For the food, I already have the teleport ability to take it to my secret base. Orstrid will be my support at this time because she is the one who has great strength compared to me.
I plan to reach Rivira, or the 18th floor, and along the way, I will try to gather some material to get some money for me and my Familia. After finishing preparing, I wear the green cape given by King Larfal and put on twin blades [Laguz and Logi], while Orstrid wears the armor I bought and the Claymore blade on her back.
"Okay, let's go, Orstrid."
When I opened the door of my room, a familiar face showed right in front of me. It was an elven woman with a beautiful face, and she had green hair and eyes. I could see that the elf in front of me was not happy at all. I knew she looked like she did not have any expression, but I knew she was angry.
"Oberon, Orstrid, where are you two going with full equipment and supply?"
'How did she know I would go out to the dungeon.'
"Hm, from your expression you ask 'How did she know that I am going out?' kind of expression."
'gulp.'
I can help, but I feel nervous about how to answer her question.
"Loki told me you would go to the dungeon for two days. If you don't want her to tell anyone, make sure she promises not to open her mouth."
'Damn you Loki!' I shouted in my mind.
"I-I want to level up quickly, so I decided to go to the dungeon with Orstrid. Only with her, I can surely come back in two days."
Then she looks at the bag that was carried by Orstrid on her back.
"I see you are well-prepared... Don't worry, I will not stop you, Oberon. I'm just angry that you want to sneak out without saying a word to me. Can I ask why you did that?"
"I don't like to see the people that I care about feel worried and sad... because I know that what I am going to do is stupidly dangerous, but it is the only way I can level up quickly."
I have to kill the monster as much as possible to level up before Denatus begins. Then Riveria went forward and gave me a surprise hug.
"Just promise me to be careful. I don't want to lose you, Oberon."
Then I hugged Riveria back and replied.
"I promise I will come back safely."
After minutes of warm embraces, we finally put distance between each other. I said a couple of farewell words with Ais and apologized to her that Orstrid could train her until I came back, still asking her to do the daily routine that I gave her.
"Ah, Riveria I will give you this book as an apology for not attending class tomorrow. That is a magic book that I know will be useful."
It was a hundred pages of instructions and an explanation of magic that I wrote myself in case I wanted to teach others the way of my magic. It is only magic that is on the elementary to sage level of magic because the higher level is dangerous to learn without any supervision.
"It took me four and a half years to write it …"
("Of course thank to you to Orstrid…")
"If there is something that is not right, you can ask me when I come back."
I could see that her mood was changing to be happy, which made me feel a bit at ease. After that, Orstrid and I went to the Babel Tower and went to the dungeon entrance. It took us almost an hour to arrive at the center of Orario, and it was already afternoon, I could see a couple of adventurers on their way to the guild to exchange the material they had gathered in the dungeon.
There I met a familiar face; it was a woman that I had met days ago. It was Tsubaki, and beside her was the goddess that I met today. When Tsubaki noticed me, she waved her hand, noticing that Hephaestus looked in the direction of where Tsubaki waved.
"Oberon?"
"We meet again, Hephaestus, and Tsubaki too; good afternoon for both of you... I will keep my promise, Hephaestus. Don't need to worry; I just need to level up to make sure everything works as planned."
Hearing that Hephaestus and Tsubaki can help, but freeze in place, they both are well aware that I just gained my Falna days ago and already predict I will level up in less than a week.
"Did you need any help, Oberon? If you want I can party you with Tsubaki she was level 3 after all."
I can see that Tsubaki's clothes were covered with some dirt and some wounds that did not look so fatal.
"No need for that; I can see that Tsubaki just came back from the dungeon... She needs a rest, plus I can't show her my magic carelessly. Tsubaki, lend me your hands."
Still confused Tsubaki just gave her hand to me, and then I chanted healing magic to cure whatever wound she had. Feeling her wounds are healed plus all the scars she had in past battles, Tsubaki can help her feel happy and impressed with how effective my healing magic is.
"Than Tsubaki, Hephaestus see you in two days."
Then I head to the entrance of the dungeon.
"Hephaestus-sama when did you meet him?"
"Just today… He promised to fix my eyes."
Hearing Tsubaki can't help, but surprise and can see that Hephaestus's eyes still lay at the back of Oberon walking toward the dungeon.
----
In the dungeon on the 5th floor, Oberon faces a war shadow blocking his way toward the 6th floor. Oberon tried to use {Blizzard Storm}, but the War Shadow could dodge it. After dodging Oberon's attack, the monster sprung toward Oberon, but before it could take a step further, the monster's step was stopped by mud that appeared out of nowhere.
((SLASH))
The monster's head just gets cut clean, and the monster's body starts to disorient.
((BOOM))
The only thing left was a dark purple crystal at the top of the mud.
"Orstrid, is that the last one?"
"Yes, Master."
Then Orstrid picks up the purple crystal dropped by War Shadow. I can feel that after updating my status, my body became lighter even with the gravity bracelet, and I know my mana capacity increased, but it is not noticeably different.
After gathering the material, we continued to follow the map that was given to me by Riveria before I left the manor. It does not take long for us to reach the 5th floor; it only takes us less than an hour to reach the current floor. Along the way, I still have not met any monster that can pose any danger because my magic can deal with most of them; if they can dodge, I just need to stop them and cut them in the spot.
The silent Orstrid, out of nowhere, called me.
"Master."
"Hm, what is Orstrid?"
She felt a bit hesitant to continue, but she forced herself to ask.
"Master, I know that you can tell me what you see at the Hephaestus-sama workshop, but I can feel that the fear that Master Oberon felt was the same fear that Master experienced in previous lives. Is that the disease that I think it is, Master?"
Hearing her long question, I could not help but freeze my step when I heard her mention disease.
"I think it's not the same Orstrid, but they have the same symptoms... I did learn about that disease when I was in the Milishion-forbidden library. I know why it attacks pregnant women. It has something to do with the soul. The specifics you can learn from my memory, Orstrid,... I don't like to talk about my past life because most of it was a nightmare that I want to forget."
"I am sorry, Master."
"You don't need to apologize, Orstrid... To be honest, I am glad you asked me because I don't like to walk silently in dungeons. It makes me a bit nervous. By the way, I can see you are pretty close with Ais."
"Yes, she was... Ais told me my present reminds her of her mother. Master may not know this yet, but I can feel that Ais was half spirit, half human."
'Wh- what…. Why did I not know this? Ah, I didn't ask her or Riveria about Ais origin.'
"And master, her father was named Albert Waldstein, the hero that fights One Eye Black-Dragon, the very monster that Ais wants to slay."
"Wait, that's impossible; that means Ais should be more than 986 years old. Did half spirit live the same age as the spirits do? No, I can see that Ais behaves like a true child of her age. so it's impossible."
Oberon could not help but wonder how she managed to live 900+ years. Then it crossed his mind that maybe she or someone sent her to the future, but one question remained.
"Why 986 to the future, though? ... *sigh* No use speculating... At least I know the monsters that Ais wants to get revenge on."
Seeing that I was consumed in my thoughts, Orstrid reminded me to concentrate to level up and not think about the Ais family too much. After half a minute of walking, we encountered another monster, this time a group of killer ants heading our way.
Killer ants are not great monsters to engage in close combat with, so I need magic that can pierce the hard shell that monster had.
{Multiple Earth Bullet}
When I chant that spell in my mind, multiple earthen bullets the same size as my finger appear in front of me. Then I make it sharper and more dense to make sure the stone bullet can pierce the monster's hard shell, and then I make it spin as fast as possible to make it more powerful.
Then I shot the first bullet, just closed my left eye, and pointed my finger like a gun.
'Bam!'
Just like that, the first bullet flew fast as a bullet and pierced the head of the ant, kept piercing the monster behind it, and pierced the dungeon wall, leaving a crater on the wall. The monsters don't care about their group; they just explode and keep dashing forward.
'Bam!, Bam!… and the last one... bam!'
((Boom))
All killer ants just turn into dust in an instant.
"Phew, that was easy... Let's gather the material and continue Orstrid."
----
"Woah… Is this the 10th floor?"
The floor was covered with a mist, but I could still see 10–20 meters away. The room was much bigger, brighter, and higher, but I could see how wide it was. I make sure to follow the map that Riveria gives me. I can see that this floor is covered with mist, and if I am not careful, there is a chance I will get lost.
'Maybe I should erase the mist with the magic... No, it only makes the monsters easier to spot me.'
"Master, monster ahead."
When I lay my eyes toward the direction that Orstrid points, I can see any monster.
"They are below the ground, master."
Just like she said, I saw a crack in the ground. The crack started to open, and it appeared to be a small monster called an 'Imp' that normally attacks a group. They spawn and surround our position.
It only left me to fight all of them because Orstrid was carrying all the goods that we had gathered. I can see that Orstrid already holds her Clymore to be ready for anything. I know that I don't need to use magic this time because I know Imp doesn't have a defense or great speed; the only advantage they had was great numbers.
'Maybe I should test that magic.'
("Orstrid, stay close to me.")
As I order Orstrid, close our distance. This magic is one of many I developed myself when I learned about the North God technique. I put my two blades on my wrist, and then
{Gravity Pull}
I pulled all the monsters surrounding us; some of them tried to resist the pulling force, but it was no use. When they all get pulled closer, I create an earth spike around us.
((Stab))
The Imp was just pinned by the earth spike I created, exploded, and turned into a cloud of dust.
'That's more effective than I expected.'
After taking out the monster, we gathered the material that was dropped. Then we continued forward. It was not easy. The monster spawns were more frequent than before, but they were only great in number. The monster that I only worried about was an Orc, a huge pig that can reach a tree meter in height.
((grrr..))
When I heard that grunting sound, I moved my head quickly and located the source of the sound.
'Talk about coincident... that pretty big piglet.'
I can see that the orc indeed was the same as the description; it was a slow-moving monster, and it held a tree bark in his hand. Then I pulled my blade from my wrist.
'I can always rely on magic; if I want to level up other stats, I need to move my body more ... *Inhale*… *exhale*… hemp.'
With a roar, the orc charged forward, my blades flashing as he swung them at the orc. The orc parried the first blow with his weapon, but the second blade found its mark, slicing across his arm. The orc cried out in pain, but I did not falter. He swung his weapon out of desperation, but it was no use; he moved so slowly that I could evade it. When I am right behind the orc, I stab my blade, aiming at his backbone.
(Splash)
'His meat was denser than I thought... Hephaestus was right; I need to take care of my weapon.'
The blood splashed on my face. I could see that the Orc still didn't give up and tried to spin his body and hit me with his weapon, and then Orstrid cast a 'Flame Slash' aim at the Orc's head and killed it instantly.
"Thank you, Orstrid; I think that's the last one of them."
Then I picked up the drop material and put it on Orstrid's backpack.
"We should continue before they respawn again."
'So far so good If we continue on this pas we can arrive at Rivira much earlier.'