- - - (Niall's POV) - - -
"I was dragged across town by clumsy Hermes, who was happily humming at the thought of spending some time in a bar with hot waitresses around him.
After walking for a little less than ten minutes, both Hermes and I arrived at our destination, a place where men came to drink their asses off and chitchat about all kinds of shit.
Looking at the wooden sign placed by the doors, I saw the name of the inn, 'The Silver Sailboat, huh...' I thought, looking at the goofy-ass name that doesn't match its surroundings at all.
As we entered the inn, I noticed a large number of people residing in it, drinking, singing, and happily spending their time together. Among them, a pair of beautiful women giggled at the manly jokes that made me question my existence.
"So, Niall, how do you like the atmosphere? This is the most populated inn in town; even higher-level adventurers stop by here from time to time," Hermes said, placing his hands on the table as he awaited my answer.
I looked around once more before deciding my answer. It was a classic fantasy place where drunken men gathered, and I could see how some adventurers would like this inn since Orario has plenty of them.
On one side of the inn stood a large crowd of ruffians playing poker or something similar, alongside women and other viewers who carefully scanned each player's move.
Turning my view elsewhere, I saw a place where a couple of well-equipped men and women sat down and calmly drank their drinks, most likely adventurers by how well-equipped they were.
The rest of the inn was filled with simple people who came in to kill some time and drink some nice bottles of alcohol. The tavern owner, however, was a Bull, and when I saw a Bull, I did not mean the literal animal but a race of demi-humans that had some aspects like cows and bulls."
"It was the first time I saw a bull race in person, so it was a unique sight to behold. A woman in her thirties, with pretty well-equipped attributes, cleaned the bottle and held her eyes closed. She may or may not be the owner, but judging by how she handles the customers, she's most likely the one. Not that it matters anyway.
"It seems like a very nice place to spend some time, honestly. All kinds of people gather here, so you can learn new stuff any day," Hermes nodded and smiled.
"You observed pretty well! Well, you do have a point in that, but that isn't the thing I expected you to notice first... This place is known for its good women, that's why I brought you here after all!" Hermes merely laughed for a moment, looking at me with a somewhat curious gaze, just like before.
"So you brought me to Svarog just for him to scan me, ain't that right?" My green eyes looked at him, patiently awaiting the certain god's answer.
He was flabbergasted for a moment, gasping in shock. He looked at me even more curiously now. He's a very crafty god with millions of experiences, so even if he was surprised, that didn't stop him from breaking character.
"Not only that, but it's very weird for you to approach a mere boy like me. I may have done that with the bandits, but any adventurer with moderate stats at level 1 could do that, let's be honest here, Hermes."
Before I could continue, Hermes stopped me with his hand, which pointed at me to shut up.
"You are indeed special, as I have thought. I approached you simply because your mere appearance is unique and special in a place like this, hell, even in a place like Orario. First things first, your eyes."
His finger pointed at my eyes, and he looked at me somewhat seriously but still kept his playful attitude at stake.
"Your eyes are unlike any human I've encountered through my existence, and you don't have any animalistic attributes to be that of a beast kin. Your eyes remind me of a certain person... no, a certain creature that I do not dare to speak of."
'Do not dare to speak of, huh...' I also remembered Svarog's words from before, but he did mention a god that he does not wish to name. I didn't know which god that could be; surely, Cthulhu Mythos shouldn't even exist in this world since the anime is influenced by real-life mythology, not some fictional pantheon.
"Anyway... Your feat is indeed possible, but what would a boy like you do in such a ruin filled with dangerous murderers, rapists, and the worst scum possible? Those questions troubled me ever since I saw you and learned some stuff about you. Eventually, I had to send you to that old man to judge you..."
He sighed and smiled, "Although it seems like he approved of you, so there's nothing to worry about. He's known to be kind of strict and judgmental but also kind and forgiving. So if you passed his little test, who am I to judge his will? He's one of the oldest primordials out there; even Ouranos highly respects him."
"Here are your drinks, gentlemen," the cowgirl placed a drink on our table, stopping our conversation for the moment.
She looked quite pretty, her eyes were kind, motherly eyes that reminded me of Demeter's. She glanced over me for a moment and gave me a wink before making her way back to the counter where she operated.
"Hooo, it seems like you've hit a jackpot, Niall Kun," Hermes gave me a smug smile as the woman glanced over me from time to time. Luckily my emotions were non-existent, but if I had them right now, I would blush like a tomato.
"I'm not interested in that type of stuff, god Hermes. Despite my appearance, I don't have any experience with women, nor do I plan on getting some..." Hermes looked at me deadpanned and sighed in disappointment.
"Sad, honestly sad since you're quite the looker for your age. You cannot be wasting your potential in the love life as well; every adventurer needs a woman, be it a wife or a simple one-night stress relief. Stress relief is one of the most important aspects of being an adventurer. A dungeon is a very cruel and unforgiving place, so the stress of surviving builds up day by day until you either relieve it or go mad, as some people do."
"And you do have a point, but did you forget that I do not have emotions? So I'm pretty much immune to stress. Even so, I do not like the hookup culture; instead, I prefer having one partner until the end of my life..."
I was a sucker for romance, but I always held the belief of having one partner rather than changing partners night by night, or even having a harem, which is the worst thing possible for any man to do.
The sheer pressure of women would kill me; having to take care of each of them is a nightmarish thing to do. In the world of Danmachi, having multiple partners isn't quite rare like in my previous life. But even so, it's a very bad thing for a man to do, but to each his desires, I guess.
"Oh, so you are a romantic one! I see, I see! Well, that can do too; you always can find some nice woman to spend your life with. You have the advantage of having nice looks, but you'll have to get stronger to attract some popular female adventurers, ya know?" He winked at me and cheerily sipped his drink. He ordered rum, while I ordered a simple hot chocolate, which surprised me that they serve it in a place like this.
"Ahhh, such a nice taste, nothing beats the good old rum!" Hermes cheered while I sipped on my hot chocolate. Drinking such a drink in the inn brought some unwanted attention to me and Hermes.
"Also, who's that person who you and Svarog deny to name so much? Surely he cannot be that mad to scare you to that point." Hermes choked on his drink before putting it aside, his expression turned both serious and fearful.
"You know, you shouldn't mention our talk to anyone... Yeah, your eyes quite remind me of a certain primordial god that resides in the realm accessible to anyone but his children only. I cannot say his name, but Niall-Kun... I couldn't say that the god himself is bad, but his children are egotistical, crazy, maniacal gods that see humans as lesser than livestock, unlike most of the gods, of course. To us, you mortals can either be precious children or an attraction to spectate, but to that god and his children alone, you are no less than a simple grain of sand that winds blow off every moment it howls."
There's no point in denying it; he's one hundred percent talking about the gods from the Cthulhu Mythos. They shouldn't exist in the anime at all; they are fictional gods written by Lovecraft himself.
"So why, why do they exist here? Is it because of the gods' will? Or is it because they actually exist in the anime but just aren't mentioned?" I questioned myself until Hermes patted me on the shoulder.
"Do not worry about such things now; we're here to drink and have fun! I can't let you get so moody right now, so enjoy your drink and maybe watch out for some women you like hehe."
He cheekily laughed, and I sighed at his teasing. The hot chocolate was pretty fine; I cannot lie, and I was tempted to order another one, but a hand stopped me.
"Drinking a hot chocolate... what are you? A momma's boy?! Phahahahahhaha!" And here I thought that I would avoid chicle bar confrontation, but I guess the god (Author) didn't let me spend the time in peace.
Others all laughed at the terrible joke made by the drunkard. Hermes, on the other hand, slowly made his way to the corner of the room, unnoticed by anyone besides me.
'What a damned bastard!' I cursed at how he abandoned me at the first sense of danger, but I could not blame him since he's a vulnerable god who cannot afford to fight against drunkards ready to kill.
I ignored the man and finished my hot chocolate, now staring at the cow woman who stared back at me with a worried expression.
Others were silent, but the man who made the joke before got angrier. The next moment I heard the chairs being pulled and a couple of men standing up to their feet, looking at me like a beast looks at its prey.
They most likely think that I'm a vulnerable pretty brat who doesn't know what life is, so they want to roleplay as cringe alpha men among these women and impress them by beating the sixteen-year-old boy for no good reason.
"HAVE YOU HEARD ME, BOY?! ARE YOU TRYING TO GET YOURSELF KILLED, DON'T PLAY THE FOOL WITH ME, YOU FUCKING WIMP!!!" the man launched his fist at the back of my head. Hitting someone in such a spot could mean instant death in most cases. Hitting someone on the back of the head is banned in pretty much every fighting arena for a good reason.
But he didn't know that I had a very broken, overpowered ability that I could spam like crazy whenever and as much as I wanted to.
The next moment, a green wave hit the man, breaking the wooden floor and leaving a small crater in it.
Others couldn't believe what they saw, but I didn't let them make their moves as I threw one more wave at the gathered crowd of ruffians. I didn't want to kill them, so I held back as much as I could to avoid fatalities.
KABOOM!!!
They all fell to the floor, even some women who got caught in the crossfire. The next moment, some of them managed to get up, while some felt ill enough to be unable to move. Thankfully, that's a pretty good debuff I have to use on others.
"Niall... Didn't you go a bit overboard? I mean, they aren't dead, but you didn't have to hit the others too...." Hermes worriedly looked over the fallen people and scratched the back of his head.
"I was holding back pretty much, and they survived. These guys deserved worse, but I don't want to end up on a wanted list among the cities... Let's get out of here; I don't want to waste my time here anymore."
Hermes looked at me with worry and nodded. He tossed the coins to the barkeep woman, and she picked them up in a hurry. Others looked at the sight with awe and confusion. Those adventurers, whom I mentioned before, were flabbergasted at my ability.
Not that I cared about their opinions, so I left with Hermes without turning my back to see the poor sight of beaten-up drunkards.
- - - (General POV) - - -
"What the fuck was that?!"
"Was that some kind of powerful magic? He threw it without any chant and in an instant! He's most likely a first-class adventurer, but I haven't heard about him anywhere in Orario.."
"Ugh, that basta..." the guy who got hit before managed to stand up just barely and mutter the word before being smacked by a cowgirl.
"I HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF YOUR PROBLEMS IN MY TAVERN! GET OUT OR I'LL CALL THE GUARDS TO THROW YOUR SORRY ASSES OUT!!!" She was mad, which was unusual for her. The ruffians picked up their fallen comrades and hurriedly ran off from the tavern.
She sighed and returned to her duty of polishing up the glasses, while others resumed their chitchatting and drinking, thinking about the incident from moments ago.
Back with Hermes and Niall, half a day had passed, and the air started getting colder as the night came closer. Hermes was troubled the whole time, thinking about Niall's ability from before.
'That ability reminds me of a certain mage who brought fear and terror during the dark ages. Not only that, but he threw his magic without any chant and in an instant. Those green waves are a force to be reckoned with.'
Hermes held his finger upon his chin. A mage with a similar ability died a few years ago during the final battle against Evilus. A mage named Alfia, better known as Silence, was an executive of Hera Familia and one of the most powerful mages in history, if not the most powerful of all.
Her ability, Gospel, worked similarly to Niall's, a magic called Satanas Version. It sent sound shockwaves to anyone unfortunate enough to be at the receiving end. It had a very short chant, which made it super dangerous and powerful.
But the ability that Niall has is, if not better. He doesn't need to chant like with Satanas Version, and it's a pretty fast ability, quite faster than Alfia's.
Hermes wanted to ask the boy about his ability more but decided not to. Details of such powers most adventurers would prefer to remain hidden.
"Hermes, I think I will be departing from Agris tomorrow. I have been here long enough, so if you don't have a way to travel back, you can always go back with me and the carriage that Marcus told me about."
He looked at the boy for a moment, breaking his thoughts. Hermes smiled and patted Niall on the shoulder.
"Sure! I'll be by the inn tomorrow, waiting for you while I order myself a good drink! Well, see you tomorrow, Niall." Hermes departed from the boy and waved his hand to him. Niall waved back as he watched Hermes disappear into the town crowd.
"Asfi is most likely watching me from the shadows," Niall muttered quietly as he looked over the rooftops around him. He knew that Hermes wouldn't come alone to this town without his level 4 executive, Asfi.
Sighing, Niall looked at the sky and thought, "Well, Orario, soon enough I'll be able to experience you in person..."