- - - (Author's Notes) - - -
First of all sorry for the longer wait, I'm working 9 hours, 6 days a week so my writing energy isn't as good as before when I used to work hours and have a day more to rest. For now, I will upload a little less until my working schedule is back to normal, IDK when.
The important thing I wanted to say is that I'm changing how Niall's falna works, here is an example of the newer stats system.
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Name: Niall
Race: Human?
Level: 1
PWR: 0 I
SRV: 0 I
DUR: 0I
POWERS
(Azathoth's Blessing)
● Gives a user a different state of mind, removing emotions and offering protection against charms and any attack on a user's mind.
● Granting the user his own self-efficient Falna connected to the Necronomicon. In exchange for needing an achievement to level up, the user must max out all its stats to 1500 to level up. Blessing will grant limit removal if they wish to pursue greater strength.
(Chaos Sultan)
Sends a spatial energy wave that nullifies any armor, once the wave hits its opponent, the receiving side will experience fatigue and stamina loss.
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Ok so first of all, I decided to bend agility and endurance into one skill called Survivability, this way it will be easier for Niall to grind since he doesn't have a super XP boost like Bell has, I would say that he has like 30% XP boost.
Power is both Strength and Magic combined, a completely new and separate skill tree that any other adventurer wished they had. Also from now on his skills won't be called skills but powers.
The third one is called Durability, it removes dexterity completely making it into a way better skill tree that can increase Niall's overall sturdiness, block, strength, and resistance. This way he can become way more durable than any other adventurer at his or higher level once he grinds it enough.
Also, his XP gap will increase from the usual 999 to 1500 which pushes it to the EX. This way he won't level up too fast and will have a bit of a challenge to get stronger. Still, I want the MC to be quite powerful so expect him strong too.
His powers can evolve and will evolve through level-ups, just wanted to let you all know.
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Both Hermes and I sat alone in a closed room inside Familia's home. I settled onto a comfortable couch while Hermes took a seat on the other side of the table. Asfi had left us earlier to attend to some business in her shop.
"So, Niall, what did you want to talk about so seriously? When I asked you to take off your shirt, you hurriedly refused like an innocent maiden," Hermes chuckled teasingly. On the other hand, I wasn't sure how I should sum everything up for him.
"Yeah, I've changed my mind after all. I don't want to join your familia since I prefer being alone," I replied. Hermes looked at me disappointedly, but he nodded in approval. I had changed my mind because I couldn't truly trust this god or anyone in general. Also, I wanted to rise to the top by solo diving into the dungeon. As for the money, I had yet to decide how I would earn it. Perhaps I could do bounty hunting or take on assassin jobs, but I'd have to be careful since that was a completely new world for me.
"I wanted to apologize for tricking you, God Hermes. That's the important thing I wanted to say before you could give me your falna. Most likely, I'm going to be a freelancer or seek some part-time job to fill my empty pockets," I continued.
Hermes couldn't detect any lie, so he approved, "Sure thing. If you wish to find a place to call home, I'm all ears." I couldn't see any anger in him, which was good. He might be a bit disappointed, but he didn't suspect anything else.
Setting that aside, I have enough money for a couple of weeks until I find a smaller familia or a part-time job. Until then, I'll explore the first floor and check out the library since I should get some knowledge about the city and its history," I concluded.
I stood up, and Hermes nodded with approval. Making my way outside, he spoke to me with a somewhat excited voice, "Niall, I wish you all the luck in your new adventurous life. If you ever need help, my doors are always open for you. Just don't bring too much trouble, haha."
He laughed for a moment and patted me on the head. Nodding to him and Asfi, I turned my back and made my way across Orario's busy streets.
It was a rather sunny day, the streets crowded with adventurers aiming to conquer the dungeon. Each of them had their own life, purpose, thoughts, and wishes they wanted to achieve before their deaths.
Each one of them was the main character in their own story. Even if most adventurers stayed between levels 1 and 2, all of them served some purpose inside the city and the dungeon itself.
I moved around, still following the main road that led towards the Tower of Babel. A huge tower visible from kilometers away, it was the tallest building in the entire Genkai and a major attraction for all outsiders.
Of course, most people came to this city to become adventurers and dive into the dangerous dungeon depths. But the tower itself was an attraction that did not let a spectator be indifferent.
As I walked around, I heard a girlish voice calling my name from up close, "Hey, you boy! Come here, I want to talk!" I looked in the direction of the voice and noticed it was Syr or Freya calling out to me.
Her calling me like that certainly didn't mean anything good, so I just turned my head and casually continued walking, now at a faster pace to get away from her sooner. I knew that she could send Ottar or Allen anytime to catch me, so I decided to seek shelter inside the dungeon until I got strong enough to walk freely.
After walking for about ten minutes, I finally stood in front of Babel. It was even more magnificent up close than from a distance.
Adventurers were laughing, gathering around to form parties and dive together into the dangerous dungeon depths. Supporters were hunting around for new prey to hunt, most of them were Pallums, which wasn't surprising.
Sigh
I took a deep breath, still not completely believing that I was living a new life inside my favorite anime. 'Can't believe I'm seeing the Tower of Babel in person. This all once seemed like a distant childish dream, but now... now it's a reality.'
Shaking my thoughts aside, I noticed a small Pallum girl coming towards me, immediately recognizing who it was, I cringed inside.
"Hey Mister, Mister! Do you perhaps need support to help you inside the dungeon? I am very much fitted for the job of a supporter, you see, so what do you say?"
It was none other than Lili, with chestnut-colored hair, brown eyes, and a small, slender figure standing in front of me. She was looking at me with anticipation, hiding her true nature behind the innocent Pallum supporter facade.
"No," was all I wanted to say to her. I hated her character so much. Even if she truly was a reincarnation of the legendary Pallum knight Fianna, I couldn't care less. Her character was worthless, annoying, and overall stupid in my opinion.
Her eyes dropped, clearly disappointed and quite surprised at my answer. "Please Mister, I can help you with everything you need! I will even charge you 30% less than other supporters do. So please, let me be your supporter for today!"
She begged me, but that couldn't change my final decision. "I clearly said no. Now go away from me before I send you across that fountain over there," my cold tone made her shiver, and she quickly made her way away from me.
'Honestly, maybe I should kill her, but I don't know if I want to change the plot that much. Her death would have a great impact on the original plot, so I'm not so sure about killing her. For now, I will just stay away from her,' I thought as I made my way inside the tower full of people.
Getting closer to the dungeon entrance, I saw a spiral staircase going down with a bunch of armored people with their parties and equipment.
'These stairs are pretty scary for people who are scared of heights,' I thought, as the stairs lacked proper safety measures. I wouldn't be so surprised if someone fell from these stairs to their demise.
"Get the fuck away, kiddo. Don't just stand around there, hmph!" I was suddenly pushed back by a tall armored man carrying a big axe on his shoulders.
Alongside him was a group of four other adventurers, which I assumed was his party. All of them were nicely equipped, with polished swords, axes, and daggers, while wearing nicely made steel armor.
"No reason to push me, you know? You could easily pass me if you wanted to, but it seems that you like acting all mighty on newbies, don't ya?" I mocked him. Most of the adventurers were assholes who only cared about power, money, and women.
There is a serious problem with killing inside the dungeon. There's a rule that says whatever happens in the dungeon stays in the dungeon, which is fair if you ask me. But many newbies die because adventurer groups wish to steal their loot and equipment.
These guys were probably the same. "What's that? Kiddo, you should keep your mouth shut in front of veteran adventurers who are way more experienced than you. That stinky mouth of yours could cost your head..."
Before he could continue, I replied, "Alright," and with just that, I ignored the man and walked away toward the spiral stairs, leaving him and his group speechless.
Going down, I slowly made my way toward the first floor of the dungeon. Finally getting in, I noticed a blue-colored wall around me. This was the first floor of the dungeon, belonging to the Upper Floors group.
The upper floors were from floors 1 to 12, perfectly suited for newbies and adventurers still getting used to the cruel dungeon life. The least dangerous floors, except safe zones, were from 1 to 4, which were mostly populated since most beginners grind here.
'Only monsters I can expect here are goblins and kobolds... and perhaps, if I'm lucky, a legendary monster called Jack Bird. If it spawns, then I'm safe with a one million valis reward from it. With that money, I could live inside Orario for God knows how long.'
I daydreamed about money until the walls started to crack and the first goblins started to emerge.
Before me appeared rather small, horned green creatures with glowing red eyes that saw only carnage and destruction of the surface dwellers, they had sharp teeth that could cut through leather armor and easily kill a cocky newbie.
WOOSH BOOM WOOSH BOOM
I sent multiple waves, terminating every goblin and even stopping some of them from coming out completely. It was rather easy, not a drop of sweat wasted on these creatures since my power was such a cheat.
The goblins turned into a bloody mush before turning into a black mist, dropping the small monster core with their death.
'The cores are bigger than I thought, or it's just an illusion... no, it's because I'm the smaller one.' I still couldn't get used to the different heights now that I'm a completely new person. In my past life, I towered about two solid meters unlike here.
I continued walking through the corridors, eventually passing lone adventurers and adventure parties completing their daily dose of grinding.
Crack Crack
The walls around me began to crack once more, spawning a new wave of monsters right at me. This time, a pair of kobolds and goblins mixed and formed a small hunting group eager to rip my head off my shoulders.
The first of the five kobolds charged at me with ferocity, its eyes glowing red and its mind filled with carnage.
Sending the green waves at it, the kobold was sent flying directly onto the wall where it came from. Upon impact, the kobold turned into a pile of bloody mush before turning into a black mist.
Seeing their friend die like that made the other monsters roar in anger. This time, both kobolds and goblins charged right at me.
ROAAAA- WOOSH BOOM
Another effortless wave by me sent the monsters flying, and they all died just like that, without any sweat dropped from my forehead. My cheat power reminded me of a certain character from Re:Zero, Hector.
But unlike him, I don't have a spatial shield around me, nor can I block attacks with my power. Maybe I could reflect on them, but I've never tried that. Anyway, I should push into the dungeon a bit more before searching for an inn to stay.
'Speaking of the inn, I guess I don't have an option to rest on the surface with Freya knowing how my soul looks... DAMN YOU, HERMES,' I cursed that sly god while thinking about where I should go next.
'Hah, I got an idea!' My light bulb blinked as the idea came into my mind. I could perhaps wander into the ruined area of the town, also known as the place where Hestia resided at first.
I know that Hephaestus has a key to that small church where Bell's mother often went to pray. Perhaps I could either knock on the door or use the secret passage inside it. She most likely won't check the place until Hestia arrives, and that won't happen for another 2 and a half years to my knowledge.
"Well, well, well... What do we have here?" the manly, mocking voice echoed behind me, followed by the laughs of the men.
Turning around, I saw a familiar face from before, a man who bumped into me along with his friends, and to my surprise, a small Pallum girl was behind their backs.