2 and a half months later...
It was currently the month of July, the middle of summer in Orario.
The sun shone brightly above the almost cloudless sky, and the weather was quite hot this particular year.
Despite the almost cloudless sky and the intense heat, the residents of Orario continued to go about their daily lives, unfazed by the seasonal change.
Within the bustling city, the members of the Bahamut Familia were taking a break from their ventures in the dungeon, preparing for a major event on the horizon.
While not much had changed within Orario over the past two months, the Bahamut Familia had undergone some significant developments.
Splash !!
Draco, leaned back in the bathtub filled with cool, refreshing water, causing it to splash gently around him.
"So the time is almost near, huh?" he mused aloud, his mind racing with thoughts of the impending Denatus meeting at the end of the week.
Bahamut, the familia's patron goddess, had informed him of the upcoming gathering, and the young captain knew that it would be a pivotal moment for his familia.
Throughout the four months they had resided in Orario, they had maintained a low profile, but now, things were about to change, and the chaos was about to unfold.
Each member of the Bahamut Familia had reached and even surpassed the minimum threshold Draco had set for them to level up.
Clair, Michalis, Eleni, Nikolaos, Dimitra, Vasileios, and Vasiliki each had individual feats they needed to accomplish in order to ascend to the next level, a decision Draco had made with great deliberation.
Normally, a group feat would have been sufficient, but Draco believed that individual accomplishments would yield higher-grade excelia for each of them.
He had carefully planned the challenges they would face, ensuring that each member would confront a monster that would normally be impossible for them to defeat alone.
Draco himself had also reached the threshold to level up again, but he had chosen to hold off on his own advancement, focusing instead on helping the others grind on the 11th and 12th floors of the dungeon.
He had felt the desperation in their actions, their desire not to fall too far behind him, so for their sake, Draco decided to keep himself within their range until they were mentally mature enough to overcome that mentality.
"I don't want to pressure them too much, they are still quite young" Draco murmured, his eyes closed as the cool water washed over his body.
He knew that too much pressure could lead to any one of them doing something drastic.
They were his everything and he wasn't prepared to lose any of what little remained of his family.
During this time, Draco had also re-evaluated each of his familia members, considering the possibility of appointing a vice-captain.
He had a candidate in mind, but he chose to wait a few more months before making a decision, wanting to observe their growth and development further.
As Draco's mind wandered, he couldn't help but ponder the potential reactions of other familias.
'Which familia will be the first to attack us?' he wondered.
Draco knew that as the news of the Bahamut's familia rapid progress spread– him gaining two levels in less than four months and all the other members leveling up in the same timeframe – spread, it was clear that this remarkable achievement would not go unnoticed.
Larger and more influential families within the city were bound to take notice, driven by a desire to bolster their own ranks and secure a competitive advantage.
The options before these powerful factions were twofold: they could either attempt to poach the members of the rising Bahamut familia, luring its member away with the promise of greater resources and opportunities, or if that proved unsuccessful, they would resort to the next best course of action – the systematic dismantling and destruction of this upstart familia.
There was also the problems that would follow when the news about him being a Dragon kin, a creature long presumed to be extinct spread.
Bahamut had assured him that he need not worry about any hostile gods suddenly disintegrating him on the spot.
However, this assurance only applied to the gods themselves, not the children of their familia.
While their upcoming level up would allow Draco and his familia to deter smaller and weaker familias and their patron gods, the bigger and more powerful ones remained a significant concern.
Over the months, Draco had made some effort to forge closer ties with the Astraea familia, believing they could be valuable allies, despite finding their current members a bit annoying to deal with.
Sadly, not much had changed in the relationship between the two familias.
The quickest way to solidify their alliance would have been to organize joint patrols around the city, demonstrating to the Astraea familia that he and his group were on their side.
However, within the Bahamut familia, none of the members had the time or energy to spare for such endeavors.
They were all heavily engaged in daily grinding, leaving them utterly exhausted upon their return.
Additionally, the Bahamut familia members were all at level one, while Draco himself was only at level two, making them of little practical use to the more established Astraea familia.
Draco had also tried his luck with the Ganesha familia, hoping to get closer to Ardi, the sister of the captain, as he believed this would be the shortest path to gaining the Ganesha familia as allies.
Bahamut had indicated that Ganesha was on their side, but had not revealed much else to Draco, leaving him to temporarily abandon his original plans in this regard.
The situation was complex, with Draco and his familia facing the challenge of navigating the intricate web of alliances and power dynamics within the city.
The news of his Dragon kin status would be an added extra layer of complexity in conjunction with their rapid progress.
He and his familia had to contend with the potential threat of hostile gods and larger, more established familias.
Draco's efforts to forge strategic alliances had met with mixed success, but he remained determined to find a way to ensure the security and prosperity of his familia.
Draco knew that the outcome of the upcoming Denatus meeting would be a crucial moment, not only for his familia but for the entire power structure of Orario.
As he contemplated the various scenarios that could unfold, Draco's mind drifted to the challenges his familia would face during their upcoming dungeon dive.
He had carefully selected the monsters they would confront, but he knew that even with his meticulous planning, there were no guarantees.
"We've come too far to back down now," Draco murmured, his brow furrowing with determination.
'I can't let anything stand in our way. Not the other familias, not the dungeon, not even the gods themselves. We will become the greatest familia Orario has ever seen, slay the black dragon and we'll do it together.' he declared.
With that resolve firmly in place, Draco opened his eyes.
Soon his thoughts drifted to other problems awaiting his attention.
Draco let out another weary sigh as he contemplated the next challenge he had to face.
Bahamut had informed him long ago about the growth phases of his race, a process that was both necessary and daunting.
Recently, the dragon goddess had reminded him of this impending transition, and upon searching his memories, Draco recalled the details she had shared.
Bahamut had speculated that either by reaching level 3 or 4, he would reach the threshold to transition from a hatchling to a juvenile of his kind.
However, this process would come at a cost – intense pain.
Draco could still vividly remember the anguish he felt when he had previously tried to forcefully break his limits.
Apparently, this upcoming transformation would be even more excruciating, as it would fundamentally alter his body.
'So many problems to handle,' Draco thought, stepping out of the tub and grabbing a sponge to scrub the gaps between the scales on his tail.
After a thorough cleansing and a quick rinse, he wrapped a towel around himself and made his way to his room.
As he entered, his mind drifted to the matter of the Hermes Familia.
Ever since his level-up, Draco's range of detection had increased slightly, and he had noticed someone sneaking around their group.
It didn't take long for him to identify the culprit – Asfi, the future captain of the Hermes Familia, with her distinctive blue hair, cyan eyes, and glasses.
At first, Draco was surprised to discover that Asfi had been keeping tabs on his familia, but he ultimately decided to ignore her presence.
She maintained a respectful distance, never attempting to make contact, and Draco guessed that Hermes was already aware of his existence.
The fact that his identity had not been revealed to the general public suggested that Hermes was intentionally concealing it, though Draco could not fathom the reason.
Shaking off these troubling thoughts, Draco donned a fresh set of clothes and headed to the kitchen to assist Bahamut in preparing lunch.
He could feel his head aching from worrying about things that had yet to happen.
So he decided to focus on the immediate tasks at hand and address the problems that lay before him, one step at a time.