C19: Return To The Dungeon, A Supporter.
Word count = 3045 on 1/12/2024
The next day finally arrives and Axel prepares to enter the dungeon this time around. His goal is primarily money but also to maybe try out his absorption to see what is the weakest monster he can absorb as he received minimal energy from war shadows and frog shooters before he encountered the Juggernaut last time around. He puts on his new backpack, core sack on his waist and bandages around his fists to provide minimal protection until he can afford something.
Freya had given some funds which she suggested were used to pay off Axel's medical bills but they decided against that as it would have been too conspicuous that they suddenly got a ton of money. So they maintained a slightly frugal state while keeping it for a larger emergency. Axel appreciates Freya's efforts though and plans to reward her soon enough.
As Axel exits his house he encounters a person he has only really seen from a distance. A short lithe green haired cat girl in simple white garbs is standing outside her home with a worried expression on her face. Axel recognizes her as the single female member of Shuten Douji's familia. She perks up when seeing Axel and after standing up she says. (image here) [1]
"Hello Axel nya. I was wondering if I could get your help nya"
"Um sure. What do you need?"
"Um nya, I was hoping that I could be hired as your supporter nya? I heard you reached level 2 nya. Which means it's better for you to focus on your fights nya and I can collect the stones nya" She tries to sell herself for him as a supporter.
"Are you sure? He questions.
"I'd just like it if you could help me nya. I want to occasionally fight a stronger monster to help me get stronger nya" she states and Axel notices the rapier at her waist though it feels incomplete. As if created incorrectly which stunted it's full size, or was broken.
"I don't mind, there would naturally be many opportunities while you support me, but I ask why you chose this path? Are your stats not rising as you hunt weaker monsters?
She bonks her own hear, "I mess up nya. I got my falna updated a bunch nya and now weaker monsters don't help nya. I try to make money nya but it's too little and after getting saving some, I can barely maintain my weapon nya"
"That's not a weapon, I can grab a random wooden stick and it's probably sharper than that" Axel offers a simple retort which causes tears to appear on the girl's eyes as she puffs her cheeks out.
"Um, sorry. Yes, you can be my supporter. We can discuss pay after we finish today so you can get an understanding of my tempo and if you can keep up"
The tears are still there but she nods and heads back into her home to get her backpack while Axel is willing to wait a bit. A few minutes later she returns while wearing a cloak and backpack. It's not some gigantic pack but it's at least 3 times larger than Axel's own backpack.
"You don't have to bring yours nya. I'm supposed to carry everything in my bag nya. That is my role as supporter"
"Are you sure you can carry all that? Looks heavy and restricting, especially if you are trying to use a rapier as your weapon."
"I had already made my choice so I got a hand crossbow beforehand nya. If it wasn't you nya, then it would be another adventurer nya." She informs him while showing the simple handheld crossbow that is easy to reload while still being effective on various monsters except those with harder skins/shells like killer ants.
The duo make their way to the dungeon as Axel asks the girl finally, "by the way, what is your name and how far have you gone into the dungeon by yourself."
"YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW MY NAME NYAA!!!" she yells out in annoyance and gets his face almost clawed by her as Axel narrowly dodged the surprise attack. She tries a few more but he just holds her head away as she tries to swipe at him a bunch more in annoyance.
"My name is Daisy nya. And i've gone up to the 5th floor by myself nya. I struggle against war shadows since im not faster than them nya. Most of my gear is broken by them nya."
"Ah i see, well my gear is also ruined by my last fight. I've been recovering the past few days which was when i got my title and all that" Axel sympathizes with Daisy in regards to having his equipment damaged which is why both of them are only really just carrying the clothes on their back.
As such both agree to be wary of their surroundings as Axel takes on a spearhead position as expected of a proper frontliner like him. As the duo approach the dungeon, adventurers whisper his nickname as the newest record breaker is quite famous. Axel ignores them and lines up like usual to enter the dungeon with Daisy in tow.
Axel first shows off his combat style against a small horde of goblins which is handled easily by his punches. Daisy gets to observe more and more as they progress further until they reach the 5th floor and her legs lock in fear of war shadows as Axel casually punches a few tines and two of them die that just appeared from two tunnels.
"Come on, before I leveled up, I was able to reach the 9th floor so i want to go to the 11th today or at least reach the end of the 10th if we waste too much time." Axel says and Daisy is shocked by his statement as many newbie adventurers struggle to even get past the 7th floor without a party but those adventurers are proper noobs who still fear even goblins. Granted the 7th floor is pretty scary as many new monsters show up there along with War shadows and frog shooters. Amongst them is the killer ants, Blue Papiliio (rare butterfly monster whose powder can heal as well as poison), Purple moths, Needle rabbits. Then those same monsters get stronger in the 8th and 9th floor.
Daisy reluctantly follows Axel as he easily handles all the monsters by himself for a while before smacking a random rock shooter and holding it up so Daisy can shoot at it with her crossbow. She does and thanks Axel for his help. A few more instances of this and the duo get more comfortable working together as Daisy starts picking off monsters that are further off that relieves pressure off of Axel. not that he really needed it but she needed to earn her keep.
Once they reach the end of the 7th floor, they take a small break, more so for Daisy's sake as she is completely stressed out from being so deep in the dungeon now and her endurance is her lowest stat. Axel learns that her experience with war shadows traumatized her quite a bit, but it helped seeing them killed so easily by Axel. He can tell that she will gradually recover her confidence but he hopes that she can do so without relying on him as that would make her dependent on his presence. That is not a healthy resolution as his absence would simply ensure that the trauma resurfaces again if she tries to adventure alone again. Not that he is complaining about having a supporter. The lack of backpack and need to pick up stones relieves his own worries since he is less likely to be ambushed by monsters or people.
Granted nobody has tried anything like that again so far. As such, after a half hour break, the duo progress into the 8th floor and Daisy sees the true nightmare that is an enhanced stronger war shadow but Axel just used his draining skill as he caught it and held it down before beating the crap out of it. It dropped it's war blade nail and a regular sized war shadow core which confused Daisy but Axel gave no explanation and she couldn't force him so she can only accept the situation as it is while following closely behind since they are in the 8th floor.
Axel makes quick work of the 8th and 9th floor while Daisy collects the stones like normal. They finally arrive at the stairs to the 10th floor. Axel is prepared while Daisy is nervous but not as much as before. She has gotten used to Axel's way of fighting and patterns, so she is more confident in joining him in the lower floors. They walk down the stairs to end up in a very misty floor. Axel feels around and can tell that the size of the room is the same as the 8th-9th. The mist isn't outright blinding but it is very hard to actually see further than a few feet ahead. So the duo revitalize their vigilance as they progress forward and Axel gets to meet the new monsters.
The first of which is an orc that towers over the duo but Axel easily jumps around like a rabbit which allows punches to strike it's face and other parts of it's body. He also has his gluttony skill active to absorb some stats as he doesnt trust Daisy yet so he is secretive about raising his stats. Granted he can unleash a rapid flurry of blows to still obtain minor benefits but he finds that the amount is not as much as he thought it would be due to his overwhelming stats before his level up. All his stats with the exception of strength don't increase much but he sums it down to his Odr skill and Raikou's blessings on it as well as the fact that the orc is a naturally physically strong monster which translates to a higher strength growth which is better for him as strength was one of his weak points as up to now he had been fighting dexterity and agility based monsters.
Axel's stats are best when he is an all rounder but having more strength is far more beneficial as he can overcome various tough hides, scales and shells that many monsters can have as he goes further down. After taking down the orc and collecting some orc hide from the lucky drop he proceeds further and encounters a gang of imps. Tiny red skinned monsters that behave like goblins but far stronger in both physique as well as strategy. Part of the group actually held off on charging at him as they moved around but Daisy 'sniped' them with her hand crossbow which ensured that their strategy was rendered null to their own minor teamwork and Axel's power.
The imps are taken down and the duo proceed further. As they explore the 10th floor they don't encounter any other monsters even though Axel is aware that there is at least one more prominent species that appears on this level but they instead get an unexpected surprise. An Infant Dragon.
A sizable monster that is nearly 5 feet tall and 13 feet long. It's considered a monster that is comparable to Monster Rex's (floor bosses that show up on certain floors. More info here [2]). Infant dragons typically show up on the 11th to 12th floor which is why Daisy almost fainted upon seeing it so close as the mist is still blocking their sight a fair bit. Axel had to spontaneously dodge it's tail swipe but it's speed is nothing compared to the juggernaut, as such he easily dodged a few more tail swipes before a grin spread on his face and he leapt into battle.
His gluttony covered fist (if he doesnt concentrate on the skill then it only lasts 5 minutes by itself but if he does then the timer only starts when he stops concentrating on it) connects with the infant dragon's back leg and it shatters plenty of scales around the struck area. The dragon releases a huff of pain as it turns around to release a minor fire breath which is closer to a fireball spell. Axel dodges again but he can feel the terrifying heat as Daisy retreats to the edge of her vision and begins to hail down small crossbow bolts upon the baby dragons body while Axel repositions himself and chanting "Mura" and his hand adjusts into sharp claws that that with his strength are able to shred the scales on the infant dragon.
*Fwush* Another fireball comes at Axel and he tries something new. He had already expected he would encounter monsters that use various elements like the fire of the infant dragon. So during his recovery period, he had done his research on various materials that are resistant or immune to them. He studied these materials after paying a bit even though he didn't buy them. Researching them, he was able to partially replicate their effects with his Parasitic body. To a point that he is willing to test it out now in combat by outright tanking the fireball coming at him. His chest and arms take on a leathery material reminiscent of goliath hide which is considered near indestructible.
"AGH" Axel groans as the partial resistance he got was not enough to nullify the fireball . His clothes are burned and his chest is scalded but nothing more than first degree burns that can heal through one or two potions. The infant dragon is shocked the human survived as Axel releases a barrage of attacks that only gets stronger bit by bit before he is able to dislocate the jaw of the dragon which makes it howl in pain. Axel then rips the jaw offf before using it's mouth as a softer gateway to it's brain and monster core that soon enough breaks and dissipates the monster into explosive dust.
Axel collapses on his back and Daisy collects the stone when Axel says after downing a potion into his gullet, "We will make a small camp here and fight monsters for another hour or two before heading back.", Daisy simply nods and begins to set up a small camp as they follow through with it. She is actually quite scared by staying in the middle of the floor like this but their current position allows them to easily retreat to the previous floors if they are overwhelmed due to knowing the path back unlike if they continued forward. Daisy gives Axel a spare shirt she had due to them merging their backpacks. During the recovery period, Daisy was able to take down a small group of imps before Axel had to get back up to fight off two orcs that came stumbling by. They also struggled against a bad bat, a bat like monster which uses sound waves to disrupt concentration. They struggle for a few minutes being annoyed by the monster before Daisy clips it's wings before Axel utterly pummels the beast into paste if it didn't explode into dust.
After staying for 2 hours, they made their way back. Daisy gaining quite a bit of confidence due to essentially doubling her previous floor record, even if she was being carried by Axel. She still contributed to the fight but only against the weaker enemies but it's still progress and Axel is happy to see it.
On their way back, they find that a minotaur had somehow gotten down to the first floor and was about to kill a young white haired boy with a basic knife when the sword princess of the Loki Familia comes up to kill the beast but not in a clean manner as the boy is covered in blood, looking like a giant tomato as the boy runs away in terror, shock and infatuation. Daisy chuckles a bit when Axel bonks her head to which she pouts with a displeased nya.
"That boy isn't that far off from yourself, careful not to be overtaken." His voice isn't quite but also isn't loud which means the other members of the loki familia which were making their way back from the expedition also notice Axels group.
A small staredown occurs before the loki familia recalls Ais Wallenstein and leaves the dungeon. Axel's group also leaves.
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[1] some may question why i'm only doing an image now of all times and that is because it's easy to look up the other characters but the mc and this new character are my own creation so i naturally need to give them more priority. Mc image is cover image so don't bother asking for it
[2] The first official monster rex shows up on the 17th floor and is called the Goliath, it's considered a level 4 monster even though that area is peak level 2 or early level 3 zone for adventurers (my own conjecture based on the other average power of monsters).The next Rex is Amphisbaena that shows up ont he 27th floor. It's a two headed sea dragon with a magic weakening breath and a 'super' fire breath on it's other head. It's considered level 6 and spawns on the middle floors.
The next Rex is called Udeus and is a giant skeleton monster that is supposedly half buried. If fought by a small team or a single person then it has a guaranteed spawn rate for it's signature black blade. It spawns on the 37th floor and can even summon 'lesser' skeleton monsters called Spartoi.
The next is a set of two rexs. They arent on the same floor but the 2nd is a similar beast to the infant dragon as it's an unofficial rex. Balor Spawns on the 49th floor and is a giant goat like monster. The other is Cadmus on the 51st floor and it's a giant dragon-like monster which is considered stronger than Udeus, a proper Rex. That is the last of the 'recorded' monster rex type monsters in the dungeon.