Chapter Size: 2351 Words.]
Third Person POV
Somewhere, Orario.
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"What happened this time?" Shakti spoke, looking at the member of her family who had just arrived with some news of disturbance in the city.
"There was an attack in a corner of the city; residents and passersby heard sounds of explosions and lightning. Surely, someone is casting magic recklessly..." Said the family member who came to report the situation.
"I see, then let's go check it out. Our role is to maintain order in the city." Shakti said, leading the group with a serious and focused expression as she and a team left her family's house.
The members of the Ganesha Family accompanied Shakti with determined faces through the city, accustomed to dealing with emergency situations. Even though Evilus was a past threat, they were always prepared to handle the chaos that could arise in the city. Shakti moved with her group to the indicated area and encountered a scene of turmoil in one of the streets. A crowd of onlookers had already gathered around the Soma Family residence. The view was chaotic, with murmurs and exclamations echoing among the spectators.
In the Soma Family residence, which was the center of attention, highlighted by debris and signs of recent magic visible even from a distance. Smoke rose from parts of the structure, and evidence of a recent battle was still palpable in the air.
The Ganesha Family members, with their serious and authoritative expressions, moved determinedly towards the crowd, aiming to calm tempers and restore order in the area. The trunks and equipment characteristic of the family indicated their presence as city guardians, ready to intervene in any emergency situation.
"Let's see what's going on." Shikta said, approaching the chaotic scene. The news that the Soma Family had been attacked spread among the onlookers, who soon noticed and paid attention to the presence of the Ganesha Family approaching.
"It's the Ganesha Family! Captain Shikta is here!" exclaimed one of the spectators, alerting others to the captain's arrival.
Shikta, accompanied by her guards, received a brief report on the situation. "It's terrible; the Soma Family was attacked tonight! The courtyard is full of knocked-out people, and there's a lot of wreckage caused by some lightning-element magical spell!" reported one of the present.
"Okay, thanks for the report. Let's check..." Shikta said, heading towards the Soma Family residence. Upon entering the house, the scene was chaotic. Soma Family members were down, clearly having faced a difficult battle; the aggressor was clearly much stronger than them. One of the Ganesha Family members commented, "It looks like they took quite a beating... but no one died in the end..."
"Yes, but still. We can't tolerate an attack that disrupts the harmony and order of the city. We need to know who the author of this attack is and find them..." stated Shikta, determined to uncover the truth behind this act of violence in this part of the city. "Yes!" Thus, the group began to investigate, trying to wake up the knocked-out adventurers, but without success in identifying the attacker, as they only described him as a man in a cloak using daggers and casting lightning from his hands. The god Soma also did not cooperate, refusing to speak on the matter when questioned, making the Ganesha family feel uneasy about it.
"Captain, what do you think? Isn't it strange?" asked one of the Ganesha Family members.
"Yes, everyone describes him as a man wearing a cloak and having a distorted voice, perhaps some magical artifact... He also calls himself Lord Sith, which I've never heard of before. Anyway, let's inform the guild. They can activate the Hermes Family, which is more specialized in investigation than our family," concluded Shikta, wrapping up her duties at that moment. However, she couldn't help but cast a worried glance at the scene.
"He casts lightning... That sounds very familiar, as if connecting to a certain troublemaker who's been stirring up the city lately. The more I try to figure out who did this... the more his face comes to my mind..." she murmured to herself but quickly dispelled those thoughts to continue her responsibilities.
A little before the Ganesha Family approached the location, Lucius had left with Lili out of sight of the curious forming outside the gate, holding her by the clothes before starting to jump across the rooftops. He leaped into the darkness of the night, camouflaging with his cloak mysteriously.
"Lord Lucius, is everything going to be okay?" Lili cast a last look at the residence of her former family.
"Of course, it will be. We'll find Bell and the others," Lucius tried to reassure her.
"Is Bell-Sama okay?" She asked suddenly, remembering what could have happened to Bell, so she was quite worried.
"Yes, he got hurt pretty bad, but he'll be fine..." Lucius replied.
"It was Lili's fault; she always brings bad luck..." Lili lamented.
"Don't worry about that. I admit I didn't like you at first, but you're part of this family now, Lili, and soon you'll become an official member. So, don't worry about it," Lucius said, trying to reassure the pallum. Expressions of concern and guilt still marked his face, but she acknowledged Lucius's words. "I guess Lord Lucius is right..." Lili admitted, recognizing Lucius's sincere words. Even though he didn't like her initially, she was pleased with his new attitude and what he did for her tonight.
The two continued leaping across the rooftops until they reached the Hostess of Fertility pub. Lucius entered through the window, alerting the high-level waitresses in the place, who didn't worry upon realizing it was just Lucius.
"Lucius! Lili!" Hestia pleasantly exclaimed next to Riekling as Lucius entered with the pallum. Hestia was happy that Lucius had finally shown up and with Lili safe after Lucius had cast healing spells on her and a few other spells to make her look better.
"As you can see, Goddess Hestia, Lili is back, and now you can put a falna on her." Lucius announced with a small smile.
"Thank you!" Hestia thanked.
"Well, now I'm going to sleep. I need to take care of other things tomorrow. See you." Lucius said calmly and left the room. He wasn't interested in the process of Lili's falna and preferred to rest now that things were over. While Lucius was sleeping, rumors quickly spread among the adventurers, creating a mix of fear and fascination regarding Lord Sith. Some wondered about his motivations, while others debated the truth behind the dark identity that emerged tonight, attacking an entire family alone, as at this point, everyone knew that the Soma family had been destroyed by a masked figure who launched an attack on them.
The next day, Lucius woke up with the intention of preparing once again and going to the dungeon on the same day. 'In my personal storage, there's still Welf's sword, but it's already getting worn out. I'll provide some materials for him to make new ones...' Lucius didn't use any of the other katanas he bought, but Welf's sword wouldn't last much longer. He just hoped to have some new ones before the War Game.
"Hello, Bell," greeted Lucius after seeing that Bell woke up for the first time since the attack.
"Lord Lucius, Hestia-Sama and Lili told me what happened. Thank you very much; I'm glad you came back at this moment to save Lili," Bell greeted, still with some stalks in his body.
"Well, we got lucky, but everything worked out, and I don't blame you for the attack you guys suffered. They wanted Riekling and did us a favor by taking Lili in the process," Lucius spoke.
"Really, and is Riekling okay?"
"He didn't tell you?"
"HEEE!"
"Well, I can't understand him like you, Lord Lucius..." Bell spoke a bit embarrassed.
"Nobody can..." Hestia spoke.
"Not even Lili can understand him..." Lili commented.
"HEEEE!" Riekling didn't like that and protested.
"Hahaha. Don't worry about it. Anyway, they took him to a secret place full of other monsters. They thought they could sell him, but as he's a summon, he disappeared and is here under my summoning spell. Those idiots won't even realize the empty cell in the next few days..." Lucius laughed.
"Anyway, that group, Ikarus Familia, now owes us for the attack, and I intend to make them pay for it after we go through all this mess." Lucius spoke with a dangerous glint in his eyes. He didn't even notice that there was an elf looking at him attentively at that moment. She wasn't foolish to realize that the one who attacked them was one of the remaining Evilus families, which also participated in the massacre of the Astraea Familia.
"Hey, brat..." Suddenly, Mama Mia's voice appeared, and she walked up to the table, mostly looking at Lucius.
"Mama Mia?" Lucius raised an eyebrow.
"The whole city is talking about a man wearing dark cloaks and calling himself Lord Sith; you have nothing to do with that, do you?" She stared at him with sharp eyes.
"I have no idea..." Lucius opened a confident smile. It was very clear that it was him, so he had no reason to try to hide it and even mocked. Hestia rolled her eyes, knowing he was lying there.
"Tsk, I like you, brat. Just don't bring trouble to my Pub, got it?" She gave another sharp look, and Lucius nodded, not wanting to bother the retired woman.
"Anyway, I'll make a few more today to prepare for another dive. Explain to me how our situation is since I haven't had time to talk to you since I arrived," Lucius asked Hestia directly.
"Well..." Hestia began.
"A siege game? It seems that's the case..." He said after hearing Hestia's report.
"You don't seem very surprised," Lili murmured beside him.
"Well... It's a war game; we'll fight regardless of the challenge..." Lucius omitted that this result was expected by him already and continued speaking. "So, we'll have help from some families, to the point that some adventurers are receiving their falnas from Hestia; that's good..." Lucius already imagined who this new group would be, as in the original.
"Let's continue training. I need a challenge to reach level 3, so let's stick to our routine. Just be careful in the dungeon this time. Take a raid with your contacts and go to the floors below Rivira; I think it will be safer and more efficient." Lucius advised and left the inn shortly afterward.
He went to the Twilight Manor to deliver Riveria's book and was stopped again at the gate.
"So, Lucius, are you behind Lord Sith too?" An elf approached him in an alley, crossed her arms, and spoke openly.
"Why does everyone think that? Let's put that aside." He said loudly and quickly wanted to change the subject, seeing that he couldn't lie to her and it would be a useless conversation.
"Just don't turn into a criminal." She warned him before looking at the book. "You read it, then. I hope it helped you."
"Yes, very useful. I'm even developing a new skill thanks to it." Lucius spoke and earned a surprised look from Riveria.
"What?! You're really developing a skill in just a week?" She said with a tone louder than she intended, not believing the words of this human; after all, how could that be possible?
"Yes, hard to explain, but I have better magical compression, thanks to your notes and insights, so thank you." He admitted.
"Tell me everything; I want to know about this skill immediately." She seemed excited.
"Well..." Lucius was a little stunned but continued. "I'm in the middle of a war game. How about having that meeting with me, then... But inside the dungeon. I intend to kill Amphisbaena alone; if you want to come, you're very welcome." Lucius smiled at that.
"You what?!" She exclaimed with Lucius's audacity.
"I'm going to kill Amphisbaena alone. I want to reach level 3; I need a boost through a challenge."
"But that's madness, you know that?" She said with a stern look.
"Then be there. You can help me if I need it..." He smiled.
"You are a reckless, foolish, and irresponsible man..." She said with a clearly dissatisfied voice but looked into his eyes immediately afterward.
"OK, I'll go with you, but you better prepare well for this!" She gave her warning.
"Hahahaha. Great, this will be our first date." He smiled shamelessly.
"THIS IS NOT A DATE, LUCIUS DRAKENAR!" She made it clear, but there was some blush on her face with those words.
"Whatever. Anyway, let's go to the dungeon this afternoon." He said, and Riveria agreed.
He quickly prepared his things and went to meet Riveria in the Dungeon Hall, going to some shops before returning to the Pub.
"You're going to the dungeon already, Lucius?"
"Yes, Hestia. You wanted to see my stats, right? Let's do that before I leave then," Lucius spoke.
"Yes, let's take a look at your stats," she said and asked him to lie down in one of the rooms.
Some time later, Lucius left the room just wearing his iconic cloak and leather armor underneath, continuing his way to the dungeon. Anyone who looked at him would not imagine that he had left a certain goddess paralyzed upstairs.
Hestia was in shock at this moment, not believing what she was seeing in Lucius's status, wondering if Lucius was still a mortal or even a human... Lucius's status numbers were finally seen by Hestia, revealing an impressive increase in all areas. His strength, endurance, dexterity, agility, and magic now reached extraordinary levels.
---Updated Status---
- Strength: B770 -> SSS1506
- Endurance: A812 -> SSS1640
- Dexterity: C603 -> SSS1520
- Agility: E412 -> SSS1700
- Magic: EX1120 -> EX2210
His status was ready to reach level 3, but he didn't have the option for the level-up. However, Lucius had something in mind for this exploration. He was determined to achieve what was needed to reach level 3 before the War Game, which would take place in just over a week.
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