Part Fifteen
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I couldn't get the morning out of my head. Even as I strode through the Dungeon's second floor looking for monsters with my newly repaired spear in hand, Hestia wouldn't leave my mind.
The feel of her bare skin, and the soft supple flesh of her breast under my fingers…
I shook my head to try and make it go away.
I shouldn't have asked her for that. I got carried away by the sweet sensations and by the attention my dick was demanding.
I hadn't even really expressed my feelings for her, if I could figure out exactly what they were beyond desire. Love? I don't know if I can call it love yet, but it was more than just physical desire for sure. Maybe it could be called love, or become love.
What even was love anyway?
She was just so damn kind to me. Always trying to find some way to help me, even if it was only cooking breakfast and having something for me to take for lunch into the Dungeon with me. And the touches were nice too.
I should have done something. Something to reassure her that I wanted more than just her body.
Stupid. Stupid.
What kind of man touches a girl's breasts before even giving her a kiss? Me apparently. Thinking with my dick instead of my head.
I don't want her to see me like that. Like just another of the gods she refused in heaven.
Not like that.
I took my frustrations out on the Dungeon's denizens. A poor, unfortunate kobold howled its battle-cry at me, only to be silenced as my Force Pulse crashed into its head, splattering it like an over-ripe pumpkin.
A trio of charging goblins had their legs swept out from under them by a wide-area Force Pulse, before being picked off one by one by my spear.
Too easy. Too weak.
I consulted my map and changed direction. I was going deeper.
A Dungeon Lizard tried to ambush me from the ceiling along the way, but my Danger Sense warned me. Instead it hit the ground with a solid thump only to have its tail pinned down by my spear. I drew my sword and cut off the flailing lizard's head.
I descended to the third floor, but found nothing but more of the same. Small packs of goblins, kobolds and dungeon lizards by the twos and threes. Nothing I could really let loose on.
Just fodder. They died as quickly as they came, whether to my magic or my spear, or even to my sword, just to mix things up. But no matter how many I killed, I didn't feel any better. Once battle engaged, my feelings would fade into the background, but they just came back.
I had just handled a pair of Dungeon Lizards, placing their Drop items I had forced them to produce for me into my now near-full backpack, when my Danger Sense started to raise my hackles.
I looked off to my side, and saw another Adventurer looking back at me.
No. Not at me.
At my backpack, overflowing with Drop Items.
The feeling of impending danger intensified.
"Turn around." I said, as confidently as I could manage.
"Peh," the adventurer spat. "Why don't you share some of that luck of yours?"
I simply stared back. This fight wasn't unwinnable. That was the feeling I got from my Danger Sense. If it had been screaming at me, maybe I would have just given some of it up, but the more I thought about it the more angry it made me. Anger that I was not at all used to feeling.
How dare he? This was mine. Mine and Hestia's.
"Fine, we'll do this the hard way then," he said, drawing his sword. "I've been down to the Sixth, you know, he said, as though to intimidate me with that knowledge. "A little newbie like you still up here, can't win. Just hand over a few of those Drops and I'll leave."
I tightened my grip on my spear and settled into a waiting stance.
"Leave." I repeated.
His gaze grew hard. "You asked for it."
He dashed forward at me, sword held low.
Fast. I thrust out with my spear, low at his ankles.
Feint. Stab high.
He was able to follow my movements and bat the tip of my spear aside with his blade. I drew the spear back as he tried to close and thrust at his lower chest, where his breastplate ended, forcing him to shift direction and not come straight in as he moved to keep my spearhead away from his body.
Go away.
That's what I wanted more than anything. This was different from fighting the monsters. I didn't want to fight another person like this. If my time in HEMA had drilled one thing into my head, it was safety when sparring with another human.
This was no spar, but the thought remained. I didn't want to do this.
The other adventurer, forced out by my spear, stared at me. I matched his gaze, hoping I was conveying determination and not my uneasiness at the prospect of continuing to fight him.
The feeling of danger was fading.
He glared at me, taking one last look at my bag before turning on his heel and sprinting off away from me down one of the connecting halls. Startled by the sudden change from being in a fight to my opponent running off, I just stood there and watched.
He ran away?
My shoulders sagged in relief. How anticlimactic. Weren't we supposed to fight to the death over a handful of Drops? Instead we exchanged a couple of blows, or rather he faced a couple of mine and just left?
No monologue about how he'd be back? Or about how he had powerful friends or something?
It was over just like that. Just an attack of opportunity.
It was disgusting, but I imagined it wasn't uncommon up here. After all, if you were going down to the sixth or seventh floors, and maybe you had a bad day or something, it would be all too easy to just force a weaker adventurer to give you some of their work if they didn't want to risk your wrath.
It made me wish I had used my magic. I shouldn't have been so reluctant. Now he can go extort someone else, someone not as able to defend themselves as me.
I grabbed my backpack up off the ground and slung it over my shoulder. I'd need to head back up soon, since it was getting full, but first I was going to step foot on the Fourth Floor, just to get the Quest completion for entering the floor and returning safely. Then I was going home.
I didn't feel like staying in the Dungeon today. My thoughts were all just a mess. If I stayed, I might do something stupid, like try to go down to the fifth floor out of frustration.
I just needed to think.
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Kashima Ouka thrust with his spear, forcing his sparring partner to dodge to the side. They were in the back of their Familia's home in the outer city near the walls. Mikoto stepped in towards him, blade successfully meeting his spear and deflecting it to the side as she closed with him.
They were very close to evenly matched, the two strongest members of Takemikazuchi's Familia. And although he wouldn't admit it out loud, he'd acknowledge that Mikoto was the stronger of them in his head. It was one of the reasons he was always up to spar with her when they weren't going into the Dungeon the day or two after a trip down to the Tenth or below.
He almost missed the days when they could go into the Dungeon every day. When their weapons weren't coming back in need of repairs after every dive, and they weren't spending many thousands of valis on healing potions that could handle the much deadlier wounds that monsters wielding landform weapons could cause.
True, they were bringing in a lot more money for the shrine back home with every dive, but the expenses were growing almost as fast.
He spun his spear, bringing the other end of his double-sided spear to bear, forcing Mikoto to either accept a hit to stay in, or else step back.
This was the first of two days off from the Dungeon while they prepared for their next expedition. Although calling it an expedition made it sound far more grand than it actually was. Expeditions, real expeditions, were what the high-class Familia's did. Those the Guild had given a Ranking of D or higher, and received actual missions from the Guild to dive deeper into the Dungeon and explore the Frontiers.
The danger was no less real, though. He'd breathe a sigh of relief when one of them managed Level 2. He wanted it to be himself, but if he was honest, Mikoto was the more likely of them.
"Ouka!" He heard his god's voice call out to him in between clashes. "Come here, you as well Mikoto."
The pair of them, still sweaty from their training, approached their god.
"I have something to ask you to consider," Takemikazuchi said. "The goddess Hestia just came by, and she had a request and an offer for us to consider."
"What kind of offer?" Mikoto asked.
"She'd like you to take her child with you into the Dungeon."
Ouka frowned. "I'm sure I heard you say her Familia is brand new."
"It is."
"Then surely you understand why we can't be taking a brand new adventurer with us. Even as a Supporter, they'd only slow us down." Ouka said. It was redundant, surely his god knew this, so there must be something more to it.
"Her child has Healing Magic," Takemikazuchi explained. "According to her, it is of the Short-Chant type, and can replicate the effects of a weak healing potion with one or two castings."
"Healing Magic!" Mikoto exclaimed. "That's rare, isn't it?"
"It is," Ouka agreed. That was a compelling reason to take a look. "But I want to meet this adventurer first."
"Naturally," Takemikazuchi said. "If you're willing to meet him, she can bring him by once he returns from the Dungeon."
"Do you know how far down he has gone?" Mikoto asked.
"According to Hestia, just to the second floor."
"Sounds like he'd need training," Ouka remarked. "I'm assuming the offer was for him to act as a Healer and as a Supporter?"
"It was. She seemed very eager to have her child join an established group, if only for his own safety. I believe we should consider it."
"Have her bring him by then," Ouka decided. "If no one raises any objections we'll test him out. Maybe plan on going to the sixth and seventh floors, just to get a feel for each other."
"That's up to you," Takemikazuchi replied. "You're in charge. If you don't like him, you have the final say. I'll let Hestia know, and you two can return to your training."
"What do you think?" Mikoto asked him as Take returned inside.
"If nothing else, just the money we might save on potions if his healing is actually that good would make up for having to split our take an additional way." Ouka speculated. "We'll find out later."
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Hestia didn't even give me a chance to say anything when she arrived back at the church. I had returned a little while before, and found that Hestia was out. I had even realized what I needed to do about this morning.
But as soon as Hestia saw me, she had me change clothes so that we could go see Takemikazuchi and his Familia.
Hestia works fast. I had asked her to speak to Takemikazuchi about me joining them before I left for the Dungeon. The more I had thought about it, the better an idea it seemed. And if it didn't work out, whether because we couldn't get along, or they rejected me, or because it wound up being less effective for me than soloing the Dungeon, it was unlikely to wind up being a big problem.
At least, that's what I felt. And I was hopeful that it would work out. I knew that Takemikazuci's Familia were good people, and had a sense of responsibility. Ouka may have Pass Paraded Bell in canon in order to save the lives of his own team, but they also owned up to it, and tried to make up for it. They didn't make excuses about whether or not what they did was wrong. Even Ouka, who I recalled saying he felt he made the right decision, didn't say so out of any sense that what he did was good. Only that he made the least terrible call for him and his team.
That was my impression at least, vague though it was given the time since I had really engaged with Danmachi on a direct level.
I really wanted Hestia to slow down so we could talk, but she seemed so intent on this that I set it aside for the moment.
Takemikazuchi Familia was based in a modestly sized two-story home not too far from us, although the neighborhood was a great deal nicer.
My first impression of Takemikazuchi was that he seemed reliable. He dressed like a man straight out of a period-piece set in old Japan. But he looked refined in a way too.
Kashima Ouka on the other hand… I had to remind myself that he was a man who has been all the way down to the Eleventh. He just looked so young to my eyes. 18 years old maybe? He could even be younger than that.
I glanced at the group that made up their Familia and it really struck me how young they all were. In my world, they all would have been laughing together in high school, playing and having fun. Not diving into a monster infested hole in the ground in order to make money to send back to their home.
They're adults, I reminded myself. Not kids. They've been fighting monsters far longer than you have. They're stronger than me too. Probably even their supporter.
I can't look down on them for their age. They're my seniors, at least in this regard.
"You're Blair?" Ouka asked, holding out his hand to me. I returned his grip as best I could and looked him in the eye.
"I am. Thank you for hearing us out."
"If your magic is as good as Hestia has said, we'll give you a chance," Ouka replied. "Can you show us now?"
"I can."
Ouka took out a knife and made to cut his forearm.
"Stop," I said. Ouka gave me an inscrutable look, but didn't cut himself.
I shoved my indecision and held out my arm.
"I'm the one asking for you to go out of your way for me." I said, trying my best to convey my sincerity. I willed my arm not to tremble as I asked Ouka to cut me. "So make it something you'd expect to see."
Hestia gasped, but Ouka just nodded to me. And then his knife flashed between us.
I could barely follow the strike, even knowing it was coming. The difference between us laid out in one single movement. It made the man who attacked me in the Dungeon today look like a joke
"Blair!" Hestia cried as I jerked my arm back, blood spilling from a gash running up the length of my forearm.
I shoved the pain and shock aside and began my chant.
"Goddess's Light, bless us with your presence. Come forth and sooth this wounded soul with your Healing Light!" Just as I had in the Dungeon several times over the few days, I cast my magic. Golden light washed over my arm, blood flow visibly slowing as my skin knitted itself back together. One casting wasn't enough for this, but it was no longer a forearm-long gash, but now a thumb-length cut that was bleeding lightly.
I followed that up by casting it again, closing the cut completely. Of course, my arm was still bloody, as was the ground beneath me.
"Fast," Ouka whispered. "How many times can you cast in succession?"
Thinking back to the time the Dungeon spawned all those goblins on top of me, I tried to estimate how often I could cast it then, versus how it felt now.
"Quite a few? Probably eight or nine times without stopping. I'd be in serious danger of Mind Down at that point."
Ouka glanced back at his god and fellow members for a moment before turning back to me.
"We'll give you a shot," he said. "Come inside and we'll discuss the specifics."
Party found. Hopefully this will be well worth the effort.
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Hestia was really beautiful. I'll fight anyone who dares imply otherwise. She had been latched onto my arm practically from the moment I had cleaned the blood off of it all the way back to the church.
I should have asked her to leave the room when Ouka pulled out that knife. It seems like I have once again caused her some distress by being thoughtless.
Understanding you were wrong is hard. Saying it is harder. I had an apology to make, and intentions to make clear.
She was sitting on the bed, reading a book when I came over and kneeled down in front of her. On one knee, with her on the bed, my head was still at almost the same level as hers.
"Blair?"
"I'd like to apologize for this morning," I said, looking Hestia in the eyes despite the shame I felt. "I shouldn't have asked you for that."
"Blair…" Hestia started to speak, but I could hear in her tone she was going to try to dissuade me.
I shook my head and steeled my resolve. "I want this, whatever it is, between us. But I don't want it to be nothing but physical. I shouldn't have touched you like that without making myself clear to you first."
I swallowed down my fears and said the words. "I do want you. And not just your body. And if you don't want that, then I won't bring it up again. So please forgive me."
I heard the hitch in Hestia's breath, before I quite suddenly found myself falling backwards with a face full of Hestia's bust and a teary goddess crying on top of me.
"There's nothing to forgive," she cried. "I want this too. We'll figure it out together, okay?"
I wrapped my arms around her back as she cried. Happy tears. I never expected to make that happen.
But there were tears in my eyes too. Tears of relief. The fear that I had actually pushed Hestia away, despite her words to me in the morning was like a dark cloud hanging over me all day.
"I'm so happy!" Hestia exclaimed.
I am too, my goddess. I am too.
Part Sixteen
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I felt a bit bad as Miss Eina rested her head in her hands.
I had come by the Guild early in the morning to ask her for a change in our lesson plans. Since I was going to be joining the Takemikazuchi Familia in the Dungeon tomorrow and the next day, on a sort of trial-run of my addition to their group, I really needed our lessons to be covering the basics of the lower levels in the Upper Floors.
Currently, the plan was for tomorrow to involve a trip to the sixth and seventh floors, where I'd be learning the basics of those floors as well as how to act as a supporter, and then the next day to go down to the eighth and ninth. That would then be followed by a couple of days out of the Dungeon, and then if everything was fine and they didn't decide I was in the way even despite my healing, I would join them down on the tenth and possibly eleventh floors.
Which left me with today to myself. I planned on spending a bit of time down on the third and fourth floors of the Dungeon, and then drop my equipment off with Welf so it could be repaired and ready for tomorrow.
"I suppose that at least you'll be with a group," Eina muttered to herself. "I don't recall ever hearing anything bad about this Familia you're working with, but you should still be careful. Supporters don't have it easy most of the time."
"I will," I reassured her, "my goddess and their god are friends, so it's not like I'm joining just anyone."
"Okay," Eina agreed. "When you get back, we'll focus on learning the patterns of the monsters on the sixth and seventh."
"Thank you. That sounds perfect." With a wave, I left Eina to her work, and I went off to my own. The Dungeon awaited.
It still disturbed me a little how quickly I had become used to killing for a living. Even if what I was killing were actually murderous creatures that wanted to kill me, no, especially because they wanted to kill me. It was amazing how quickly something so strange could become your new normal.
I sliced open the chest cavity of a Dungeon Lizard and pulled out its magic stone. Its body dissolved into ash before my eyes. A sight I had seen dozens and dozens of times, and yet one that still creeped me out a bit.
Bodies shouldn't just disappear like that. Crumble away and be reabsorbed by the Dungeon, just so it can spawn another version of the same creature later. An endless tide of monsters.
It was no wonder so many people worshipped Ouranos for his efforts in keeping the Dungeon from continuing to spew these creatures directly to the surface.
I moved through the blue-green halls at a quick pace. A fast walk, just short of a jog. The only reason I could afford to move so fast was because of my Danger Sense, which I was using to avoid unnecessary confrontations. My goal today was to complete as much of my Floor Exploration Quests as I could, at least three of them, since Hestia had asked me to do so before I left this morning. She wanted more Merit as a buffer, for her peace of mind, as well as more Renown to perhaps purchase an additional Blessing for us.
I had already handled 2 of them, and was down on the fourth floor working my way up to 25% exploration. Since these floors were so similar in size, focusing on exploring the area closest to the path up or down on the fourth made for a relatively safer and quicker process than trying to take the third floor to 50%.
But I was also avoiding unnecessary combat because I could already tell that my improvement from fighting goblins and kobolds was just not going to be that high anymore. Oh, it might be high for an ordinary adventurer, but for me I could already see how much it had slowed. Goblins and Kobolds just weren't a meaningful challenge to me anymore. My stats were already such that soloing on Floor 5 was appropriate by common knowledge - and that was ignoring my class bonuses.
Speaking of my stats, I was in a bit of a conundrum. My encounter with that opportunist in the Dungeon had reminded me of something important, that the Dungeon was full of things, both people and monsters, who were much stronger than I was. That my stats had grown so quickly made me complacent, that my current strength was more than sufficient to handle anything these first floors could throw at me short of a real Monster Party.
I hadn't been using my many Ability Pages and Chapters, because I felt reasonably safe, and because I wanted to let Blank Slate do its work. But I couldn't keep doing that anymore. Tonight I had resolved to use what I had accumulated.
There was some risk to it, since my stats were already higher than a week-old adventurer could be expected to have. Much higher, and they'd be even higher once I used those items. And since I wasn't going to be going solo, Ouka and his fellows would be bound to notice that I was stronger than I should be eventually.
That was the one big downside. I was risking a bit of my ability to hide my uniqueness if I used them. But I never really held out much hope of keeping my abilities secret for long. At best, I probably had until I hit Level 2 to hide, since given the rate my stats have been rising, I'd be crushing Ais's record just like Bell did.
And I had even less hope Freya would be interested in bailing Hestia and I out like she did for Bell. I'd prefer she didn't in fact, because if she did it meant she was interested in me, and I wanted no part of that.
In the end, I couldn't hide that I was special. All I could do was make myself strong enough that some asshole of a god can't take me away from Hestia. And if they tried, I'd make them regret it. Hestia had accepted me just as I had hoped, as a man as much as one of her children. And no one was allowed to take that away from me.
No one.
After exiting the Dungeon for the day I first went to go see my blacksmith. I wound up leaving all my gear with him, paying him for the touch-ups he'd be doing on them, as well as for making sure they'd be done by the morning when I'd need to come and pick them up.
"So you're going down to the Sixth and Seventh?" Welf commented as we spoke. "It's good you've found a party to go with. War Shadows are no joke if you've never fought something that fast before, and Frog Shooters present a whole different kind of threat. Although if you're planning to go with them all the way down to the 10th and lower, I can't recommend that you keep that basic spear. It'll break on you for sure. Maybe not the first time, but it won't last."
"Can you make me one that will?" I asked.
"Yeah," he said. "It'll be expensive though. If you can handle the cost, I can even make it a collapsible spear. Lots of spearmen like those, since it means you can carry your weapon around like a sword."
"That sounds amazing," I laughed. "Somehow I expect the price is equally amazing."
"Ideally I'd make it out of Drop items," he said. "If all you want is a spear that will be good enough, you could get some of the items on your next trip. A couple of War Shadow's Finger Blades for the head and Killer Ant Carapace for the shaft would make for a weapon that would remain a quality piece all the way down to the Eleventh and Twelfth floors."
"Will you give me a discount if I bring the Drop Items?" I asked.
He glared at me, but without any heat. "I don't do discounts. But I won't be charging for the cost of the Drops in that case."
I held up my hands. "Peace. You do good work, I'll pay full price if I get the stuff."
"Good." Welf gathered up my gear. "Now let me work if you want this all done by morning."
"Thanks Welf," I said as I made to leave. "See you in the morning."
Now I just had to survive Miss Eina's lectures.
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Blair
Level 1
Strength G-219 ->G-240
Endurance G-200 -> G-213
Dexterity G-227 -> G-247
Agility G-245 -> G-263
Magic H-189 -> G-212
"Too low," I grumbled into the sheets of Hestia's bed as I looked at my improvements today. Barely 20 points in each stat. If I kept up that growth rate, I'd cap out at S-999 in a little over a month. Completely ignoring the fact that stats are only going to grow more slowly. I'd still have to seek out a challenge if I wanted to grow as fast as I needed to.
Or gather up a whole hell of a lot of Ability Pages.
"So greedy," Hestia commented, shifting side to side on top of my butt. "Your growth is astounding."
I sighed. She was right, but also wrong.
"I'm going to use my Ability Chapters," I told Hestia, thinking out loud. "I'm going to be going a lot deeper into the Dungeon with Takemikazuchi's group, and I don't want to be so far out of my depth."
I turned my attention to my Inventory and my accumulated stockpile of Ability Pages and Chapters. I had further bolstered my stock by 8 more after I took the time to just step down onto the Fifth floor for a moment before returning to the surface, just as I had the day before with the Fourth. The first thing I did was turn all my available Pages into Chapters.
Inventory
(1) Page of Least Strength
(3) Page of Least Endurance
(2) Page of Least Dexterity
(2) Page of Least Agility
(3) Page of Least Magic
(5) Chapter of Least Strength
(4) Chapter of Least Endurance
(4) Chapter of Least Dexterity
(6) Chapter of Least Agility
(5) Chapter of Least Magic
38 Least Ability Chapter (Unclaimed)
All of my stats were pretty close together right now, so my inclination was just to try and keep everything nice and even, rather than rely on raising one stat far higher than the rest. On the other hand, it was equally easy to make an argument for raising one particularly high.
I ran some numbers in my head. Assuming that each improvement of my stats beyond I-Rank was reducing the value of the Chapters by one point, I could raise any one of my stats all the way up to around 500, if I chose to turn all 38 of my unclaimed reward chapters into that one stat.
Having 500 Agility did sound really good. And raising a stat over 500 made you eligible to Level Up, if you had the necessary high quality excilia. Not that I had any intention of levelling up without all my stats at 999. As long as Ability Chapters continued working up to that point, leveling up any sooner than that would just be a waste.
"I think… I think you shouldn't rely too much on just one ability," Hestia offered her advice when I voiced my own concerns. "So I think you should bring them all to about the same point, and use quest reward chapters in the future to shore up one of your stats if it seems to be growing more slowly than the others."
Evenish distribution it was then. First I used my regular Chapters, then started collecting my deferred Quest Rewards. Then using a parchment Hestia had provided for me, I started doing the math on how many to choose for each stat. 6 into Strength, 10 into Endurance, 7 into Dexterity, 4 into Agility and 10 into Magic.
"I'm done," I told Hestia, so she could finish updating me.
Strength G-240 -> F-325
Endurance G-213 -> F-329
Dexterity G-247 -> F-331
Agility G-263 -> F-338
Magic G-212 -> F-328
"I don't know why I am even surprised by this anymore," Hestia complained as she locked my Status and hid it away from sight. "You just can't be remotely normal, can you?"
I glance back over my shoulder to see Hestia with an over-the-top look of frustration on her face that was clearly staged. I bucked my hips beneath her, causing her to squeal as she fell forward onto my back. I rolled onto one side before she could move, dumping her off me onto the bed and then flipped myself over so that I was looming over her, supported by my hands on either side of her body.
"Do you really want me to be normal?" I asked. I wasn't particularly interested in an answer, distracted as I was by Hestia's face. She was so damn cute. I really wanted to kiss her, but there was something I needed to do first.
"Let's go out to eat," I said. "There was a restaurant you wanted us to go to the day we went to get registered at the Guild that you said you liked. I want to take you out there."
Hestia beamed at me. "Are you asking me on a date?"
"That's right. Would you go out on a date with me, my goddess?"
She threw her arms around my neck and yanked me down with her, so that her head rested across my shoulder. I'll take that as a yes.
"I don't have anything to wear though!" Hestia gasped as I got off of her.
"You don't need something special," I assured her. "I don't have anything either. We'll have enough money to get some nicer clothes soon, I promise."
"Okay," Hestia agreed. "Let's just go then."
I offered her my arm with an exaggerated flourish as we made to leave the church, and Hestia linked arms with me, presenting me with that contagious smile of hers.
As we walked I noticed her tug my arm down a bit, and with our arms still linked, her hand found mine, fingers slipping between my digits.
She blushed prettily when I glanced down at her, but she didn't let go. And I certainly wasn't about to.
Part Seventeen
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I woke earlier than usual; before the dawn. Although Hestia had a magic-stone alarm clock, it was set for a later - when she would normally wake. I didn't need a physical alarm clock. I had my Game.
Just like I always had access to an accurate clock in my UI, so too could I use it as an alarm. It would wake me exactly when I told it to. It was better than any ordinary alarm clock too, since it basically jolted me directly into consciousness, without having to deal with any morning grogginess.
I tried to only use it if I had to, though. Because although waking up instantly has its upsides, there's still something distinctly uncomfortable about it. It always feels wrong somehow.
Still, I had several things to do this morning before meeting the Takemikazuchhi Familia, so I had to get up earlier than I had been. And even being fully awake, I still didn't want to get out of bed. Not because I was sleepy, but because I was warm and comfortable, with my goddess's arm holding me over my side and chest. She had dragged me into the bed with her after our meal, and I certainly wasn't going to tell her no if she wanted to cuddle.
But I really did have to get on with my day, so despite my internal grumbling, I gently shifted away from her and slipped out from under her arm. She murmured something unintelligible in her sleep, almost unconsciously chasing me as she rolled over towards me onto her chest and continued sleeping.
"Sorry, Hestia," I whispered to the sleeping goddess. I pulled the sheets up and over her shoulders and made my way out to the kitchen. First I needed breakfast, then I had to go meet with Welf, pay him and pick up my gear that I left with him, and then head to Babel to wait for my party to arrive.
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"Here!" I called out to the Takemikazuchi Familia as they entered the plaza around Babel. I had only been waiting a short while, having come down from the north with my repaired gear, as well as a few new pieces, including a breastplate, lightly armored gauntlets, vambraces, and greaves. In addition to that, I now had a short javelin. It was just a little bit shorter than my spear, but reminded me most of a roman pilum, with a much longer metal shaft and tip at the end, but a more robust version. In particular, the iconic thin shaft was much closer to the thickness of the head than on an original pilum, presumably to prevent the bending became the pilum's most notable characteristic in the modern era.
I had asked Welf if he could have one finished for me today. Although my role is to be prepared to heal and to act as a Supporter primarily, I figured having a ranged weapon that I knew how to use would be of benefit, even if only in an emergency. I actually had a bit of experience with this sort of javelin. Not much, but enough that I knew how to throw it without being a danger to someone nearby.
At this point my pockets were feeling quite empty of money, even despite the large hauls I had been bringing in. Gear made to the level of quality an adventurer needs is not cheap - especially armor. The armor made my weapons costs look like child's play. True, Crozzo's work might be a bit more expensive than someone of my experience could be expected to have, and given his level of professional pride and workmanship whatever I got from him would be sure to last, but the loss of all that money stung.
I had left a nest-egg of coin with Hestia, just in case she needed anything, but apart from our meal out last night, every valis I made was being reinvested into my equipment. Bell skated by on a minimal amount of equipment, in large part carried by the Hestia Knife. I wanted to have the best Welf could make for me, and that meant spending a great deal of cash. I couldn't rely on Hestia doing for my sake what she did for Bell.
And as nice as a Hestia Spear sounded, I didn't know that I really wanted Hestia to go that far for me. I hated debt. I had seen it eat members of my extended family, and had suffered under a bit of it myself just out of high school. If Hestia went there for me of her own free will, I'd accept it graciously and work my ass off to help her handle that debt. But I wouldn't plan on it.
"Blair!" Ouka said. "Glad you're here on time."
"Of course."
Takemikazuchi Familia had 6 members; 3 boys and 3 girls. Kashima Ouka was the leader. He was the tallest of them, with tanned skin and black hair. The girls were Yamato Mikoto, Hitachi Chigusa, and a girl named Asuka. Interestingly, Ouka, Mikoto and Chigusa all wore matching purple yukata, while the other three wore other clothes. The last two boys were Kane, a shorter boy with his hair pulled into a bun, and Oki, who wore an eye-catching red headband.
Oki was the group's Supporter. It was easy to tell because of the comically large backpack he was wearing. Well, I had one too now. It wasn't as large as his, but once it got full it was sure to be more than a bit unwieldy. Yet another reason Supporters are needed.
When I had mentioned this trip to Welf, he had suggested to me a system used by others that would let me carry my spear and javelin between my back and my pack, that would hold them in place without letting them get in my way. I jumped on the idea the moment he suggested it, since I had been half-resigned at that point to just bringing my sword along.
We all gathered up around Ouka, who laid out the plans for the day.
"Since we're adding Mr. Blair to our team, as a healer and as a Supporter, for the next two days we'll not be going down as far as usual. Oki, you'll be teaching Blair the basics of being a Supporter, and we'll all be getting used to each other, as well as having seven members now."
I nodded at the boy.
"To that end, I've procured us a quest on the Seventh Floor. It seems a smith is looking for a large quantity of Killer Ant Carapace and Arm Blades. Since Blair has only been down as far as the third I believe…" He looked to me for confirmation.
"The fourth," I said with a shrug. "Just yesterday."
"Since he's only been down to the fourth," Ouka continued, "We'll be letting him experience the difference between that and the 5th and 6th first. Once we've brought him up to speed on the monsters on the 6th, we'll continue down to the Seventh and spend the rest of the day down there. Any questions?"
None forthcoming, Ouka turned to me.
"We're going to be fighting a lot of Killer Ants today, so there are bound to be a few minor injuries even if all goes to plan. So show us what your magic can do."
I nodded seriously. "You can count on me."
"Good. Everyone follow me then. We'll cover the rest as we go. We all got up so early so we could get into the Dungeon before the morning rush, so let's make the most of it."
Kashima Ouka had a surprising charisma about him, I mused as I walked with my much younger seniors into the Dungeon's waiting depths. Maybe it was just confidence, born from his experience in the Dungeon, but I got the sense it wasn't just that. He had a leader's demeanor for certain.
It was when we stepped foot in the Dungeon that it happened.
New System
[Party System Unlocked]
[Party]
Hestia Familia Members: 1
External Familia Members: 6
Party Excilia Bonus: 40%
Party Drop Bonus: 20%
I had wondered if I would ever unlock a Party System. It seems I would. And it came with bonuses to both excilia gain and my drops.
I suppressed the urge to grin like a loon. A Party System was perfect for this world. The Dungeon was not a place for people to go solo very often. Not unless you were hella strong. And even then you were locked into zones far below your abilities, or else risk getting drowned in bodies.
[Party: Excilia Bonus]
An additional amount of all excilia gained by party members will be distributed as bonus excilia. Bonus excilia is distributed among all party members, with members of your current Familia receiving 2 parts each and External Familia members receiving 1 part each.
Each member of your current Familia in the Party raises the Bonus by 10%, and each member of an External Familia raises the Bonus by 5%, to a maximum of 100%.
[Party: Drop Bonus]
Monster Drop Items and Game Drops will appear with increased frequency.
Each member of your current Familia in the Party raises the Bonus by 5%, and each member of an External Familia raises the Bonus by 2.5%.
And it wasn't just that. I now had markers on my Dungeon Map showing the location of my party members, and down in the lower left of my peripheral vision was a Party Menu, which showed me the names of all my party members, their Level, and what their current state was. All of us were Healthy. It was similar to the Familia Member list in the Familia Menu.
I could even tag a party member with an icon that would show up in my HUD.
I wondered how far away they had to get from me before they didn't count as in my party anymore. Hopefully I would never have to find out the hard way.
Everyone in our group had a role to play. Right now, to my surprise, rather than being at the back they had put myself, Oki, and Kane at the forefront of the party. Vanguard, Kashima had called the position.
"Through the fifth floor," Ouka had said. "You three will be our vanguard."
It was because it was a safe way to gain excilia. I didn't need it, in truth. My stats were too high for fighting goblins to be worth much, especially after the huge influx of stats from yesterday. Kane had taken the point position, while Oki and I took up positions on either side. Miss Mikoto and Asuka were holding the middle, in case one of us got overwhelmed or in any trouble, and Ouka and Chigusa were our rearguard for these floors.
The trip down to the fifth floor was smooth sailing. We encountered a mere handful of goblins, all quickly disposed of and magic stones collected with hardly a pause. While we were at the front, it was Mikoto and Asuka who had taken up the Supporter role for these first floors. Almost as fast as we killed the goblins their magic stones were extracted, causing barely a pause as we continued down towards the Fifth.
I still wasn't at all used to my new strength, but I was pretty sure Kane was at a similar point of strength to me. Maybe a little stronger in some areas. Oki on the other hand was almost certainly weaker, but not by too much. It looks like he had gotten some experience of his own for sure, but the impression I got from watching him fight was that he preferred the role of Supporter, rather than fighting directly himself, and only did so because if he didn't grow enough, his friends would wind up leaving him behind.
"Clean kill," Mikoto commented to me as she slipped by me to cut the magic stone out of a goblin. "It never even got close."
"I've been scratched up by goblins more than enough," I replied. "Being able to heal yourself helps."
"I'm sure it does."
The fifth floor isn't dangerous because the goblins and kobolds are stronger. They are, but only marginally. No, the reason the fifth floor is the one where solo adventurers are first really recommended to get a party is because their numbers increase dramatically. There are a lot less roaming individuals, and instead they come in larger packs. And numbers are their own kind of strength.
It made a big difference. Our first encounter on route from the Fifth to the Sixth was a pack of kobolds. A full eight of them, baying for blood the moment they saw us. My javelin took one in its left leg, effectively taking it directly out of the fight even before they got close.
"My aim still needs work," I commented as I prepared to meet the charge. "Meant to get the chest."
"You'll have plenty of targets to practice on," Mikoto commented, cool as ice despite the charging monsters. But the kobolds were not our match at all. Even Oki, who I thought I might have to heal held his own just fine.
"Your healing magic. Is that the reason you're already notably stronger than anything on this floor?" she asked as we cleaned up the kills. "I thought I was seeing things at first, but it's true."
"I'm a bit curious myself," Ouka commented. "I was expecting you to be much less capable too."
How did I even want to answer this. I wasn't really trying to hide it necessarily, but I didn't expect them to pick up on it so immediately.
"I think I've been able to stay in the Dungeon a lot longer than others," I said, by way of explanation. "I mean, I can heal myself when they'd have to leave, so I've pretty much spent full days in the Dungeon for the most part."
"Seems so," Ouka said.
"And my goddess may have had to take me to task for taking unnecessary risks with my healing," I admitted. It helped add to the explanation, and I couldn't exactly afford to reveal exactly how I had been growing. It wasn't entirely untrue, from a certain point of view.
"Change of plans," Ouka said. "I'd like you to fight on the Sixth as well. You're strong enough. We'll save the Supporter lessons for the Seventh."
"If that's what you want," I agreed. I was just sad I couldn't be in my Adventurer Class to get the full benefit, since I still had to keep Class Change under wraps. Still, it would be a good experience either way.
We pushed our way through the fifth floor quickly, only encountering a single large pack of goblins and a handful of dungeon lizards before heading down to the sixth. The Upper and MIddle Floors, essentially all the way down to the 18th and its Safe Zone were particularly easy to navigate from one down to the next. This was because the paths down to the next floor were all quite close to the way you came down to the floor you were on.
If you thought of the floors as big circles, then on the Upper Floors, the way down to the next floor was always within the central third of that circle, and even in the Middle Floors it was within the middle half. This was why until you started delving down below the 18th, parties rarely stayed within the Dungeon for more than a day, leaving the Dungeon before anyone got so tired they needed to sleep. Down in the MIddle Floors, Eina said that sometimes a party would nap in shifts, just so they could squeeze a few more hours out of the dive, but for the most part delving the Dungeon could be called a "day job" anywhere above the 18th.
Upon entering the Sixth, our formation switched up. Oki left the front here to take over as a Supporter, while Asuka came forward to take point. She didn't look dangerous. She wore an almost turban-like white headpiece, and a yellow shirt that could barely be called such. It left her sides almost completely exposed and showed off a ludicrous amount of side-boob. And if I had to pin an emotion to her before, it would have been some level of depressed. Her expression always looked sad to me. But she held her sword with a steely gaze beneath the sad exterior that surprised me.
"Eyes ahead," Mikoto said from behind me, still holding the Middle position in our formation. "Frog Shooters can attack from alcoves in the walls if you aren't careful, and no amount of healing magic will save you if it spears you through the head with its tongue."
Frog Shooters and War Shadows are the new threats on the Sixth. Frog Shooters are big frogs with a single bulbous eye. The unique thing about them is that they can attack from a distance. Not an extreme one, but farther than even a normal spear's reach. Their tongues are like a javelin, barbed on the end of it. And they can also wrap their tongue around your leg and drag you to the ground. At which point you are easy pickings for War Shadows and their long, blade-like fingers. This was what Miss Eina had drilled into my head about the Sixth Floor.
Don't let the frog shooters trip you up with their tongues or get you on the ground. And don't let the War Shadows sneak up on you. Despite their size, War Shadows are near silent on their feet and very fast.
We had only been on the floor for a few minutes when the first Frog Shooters came down the corridor we were following.
Big. That was my first impression. They came up as high as my chest and were as big around as the hood of a car. They bounded towards us, and as they closed on us the front three opened their mouths and their tongues shot forward into us.
I stepped to the side, letting the tongue extend past me a bit, and then lunged forward, jabbing my spear directly at the Frog's eye. It recoiled, but I was forced to pull my attack as the tongue of a Frog behind it lashed out at me as well. I blocked with my vambrace and the tongue's barbed tip shrieked as it scraped against the metal, but cause no damage.
I jammed my spear into the body of the Frog Shooter, causing it to croak loudly as I wrenched the blade of my spear within its body to cause more damage. To my right, Miss Asuka had already cleanly killed two, and Kane was moving on to a second as well. I pulled my spear out and finished the dying Frog and moved on to the one behind it, which threw itself directly into my body with a cry of its own.
Shocked by the move, even though it was otherwise slower than me, the frog crashed into my legs, sweeping them out from under me and causing me to tumble. I released my spear and pulled out my sword, but before I could attack the bulky body looming over me, another sword came into my vision and split its head in two.
Mikoto stepped into my place and took the attention of the remaining frogs on my side, giving me the chance to stand.
"Thanks," I said as I came to her side with my spear back in hand.
She just nodded to me and stepped back to let me handle the last frogs.
"Round two, assholes."
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