"Haah~Ahha…" Rex breathed heavily, standing over the dead body of a Hard Armored, the monster lying on its back with its stomach torn open.
The Hard Armored were armadillo-like monsters with thick, shell-like armor giving them incredible Defense. Their underbelly, however, was vulnerable and compared to the killer ant's nearly full-body protection, it was clear where to strike—but the Hard Armored's Defense was far superior overall.
Out of all the monsters on the lower eleventh and twelfth floors, their Defense was second to none, making them a walking fortress in the upper floors. Because of their existence, along with Silverbacks, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that adventurers need Basic Ability levels ranging from B to S to survive on these lower floors.
Rex discovered that truth the hard way. "!!!" he clenched his teeth, squatting and hugging his broken right arm.
The rolling bastard had come out of nowhere, and even though he'd blocked it with his crossed sword and dagger, his poor form caused the force to transfer directly into his forearm, breaking the bone.
"I guess I can use this chance to check the peak potency of my healing magic, right?" he mumbled, trying to distract himself from the throbbing pain as he activated his magic, causing the Blue Papilio powder to fall down from his chest and onto the arm he was hugging.
"Shit, shit…" He hissed through his teeth, the arm stinging as the powder started doing their job.
To make it quicker, he quickly started inhaling the blue powder like an addict, and stayed like that for a few minutes. Finally, he stood straight and held his right arm in front of him, the blue fog around him spreading out with his movement. He clenched and unclenched his fist, then twisted his arm to test it.
"Good as new," he grinned, stopping his magic. He threw a few punches in the air and laughed. "Yep, definitely on par with a high potion after enough exposure, and I didn't even use that much magic—"
Just then, he ducked, dodging a swipe from an imp that nearly tore off the back of his head, managing only to slice some hair. His hand lashed out, seizing the imp by its neck, and he slammed it to the ground, stomping on its head to end its life.
"Giiiiii!" Multiple imps shrieked in the distance.
"Ah, shit." He picked up his longsword and dagger from the ground, the crimson blood of the Hard Armored still dripping from the blades, and a piece of intestine clinging to the black dagger. "Here we go again."
It didn't take long for him to wipe out the swarm of twelve imps, his dual-wielding now smoother than before. He was already ambidextrous, having been born left-handed but forced to use his right in his Catholic orphanage back on Earth, so wielding a sword in each hand wasn't an issue. He only needed better hand-eye coordination and body control, which has been improving after each fight.
After cleaning his sword and dagger, he returned them to their sheaths and began absorbing the magic stones. "I should go for my break after this."
He had no way to tell the exact time, but his body clock indicated it had been about five hours since entering around 8:30. Fatigue was creeping in. The lower floors demanded constant battle, especially with those damn imps. Water breaks wouldn't cut it much longer, so it was best to eat before completing his nine-hour shift.
"And—" Suddenly, after absorbing an imp magic stone, a new screen appeared.
[Silver Blood (Physical Property/Passive): Turn blood silver. (Effective after a good night's sleep.)]
"… So this is what properties are?" he mumbled, staring at the screen before declining it.
He did not want to get cut and bleed silver then have the entire city coming after him. He could say it's a skill, but this physical property gives him nothing special like quicker regeneration. It was purely 'cosmetic' so he saw no point.
With that, he finished absorbing the remaining magic stone before picking up his nearby bag. It was almost empty, carrying only two Orc Hides and one Hard Armored shell, the only two drop items that can appear on floor 10 through 12.
"Five hours of work and nearly two-fifty hundred kills and almost nothing to show for it," he muttered, cracking his neck. Sure, he was getting stronger, but at this rate, he wouldn't be able to reach the quota. "Right, that."
The Soma Familia had a weekly and monthly quota, dependent on factors like level, strength, and contribution to the Familia. Generally, it was three to six thousand valis a week or about thirteen to twenty-six thousand a month.
This system kept the large Familia running smoothly, covering food, lodging, and other facilities. Missing the quota once or twice wasn't a big deal, but doing so repeatedly had consequences—and Rex had missed all of last month's quota. If he missed another month, he would be in serious trouble.
And to have Soma update your status, you also need to pay twenty-thousand valis. This is because Soma can't be updating all the familia Members all the time while he works on his wine. Due to this, the last time Rex had his status update was half a year ago.
'What happened to those excelia?' He wondered, 'Did they get added to my status after I got scavenger?' He didn't quite remember his status number from half a year ago, apart from the letter ranks they had so he didn't know that they improved. 'Well, whatever…'
He paused as he noticed something else. "Two hundred kills." That was about the same number of kills he'd had when he first gained his healing magic. "Interesting… Is there some kind of pity system?" He activated his skill to gauge the quality of this theory, and the result was high.
"So there is a pity system!" he shouted, grinning. "How much? Two hundred? Two fifty?"
He kept rattling off numbers around two hundred, using his skill to gauge their quality. The highest was 230, the quality going lower when he ventured too far from 230, but he could tell something else was missing about the pity system because the 'quality' wasn't at its absolute peak.
"I'll test that out later." He was even more excited to return to the dungeon now.
Food cost him 330 valis, and he wanted to buy a Magic Potion to replenish his mind. However, it cost fifteen thousand valis at the Dian Cecht Familia, and even the other cheaper Familia sold it for thirteen thousand minimums. With only 9670 valis currently on his person, he didn't bother. Instead, he opted to buy snacks for when he went back to the dungeon.
As he walked through the marker, his nose picked up something good and 'cheep,' so he followed it down a narrow side street that wasn't wide enough for much more than a single horse-drawn taxi to pass through. A few steps in, he spotted a stall selling potato puffs. Pulling back the cloth 'door,' he stepped inside, greeted by the aroma of freshly cooked food.
"Welcome to our stand," the clerk said with a warm smile.
She was a petite, youthful woman with blue eyes and black hair tied into twin-tails that reached down to her mid-thighs. Though small—around 140 centimeters (4'7")—she had a rather large pair of breasts. She wore a white mini dress with a blue ribbon around her neck, another tied under her breasts and around her arms, along with white gloves and a pink apron.
"What can I get for you, customer?" she asked as Rex glanced at the different varieties of potato puffs on the menu.
"Whatever that is," he said, pointing to the most appetizing choice he could spot. He couldn't read it well because he didn't understand Koine well. Old Rex was an orphan in Daedalus Street and was poorly educated, being unable to read or write with fluency, so he was now also illiterate in Koine. 'I will need to do some studying when I have the chance.'
"The Cheesy Mashed Potato Puffs?" she clarified, following his finger.
"Yes, that." He nodded, checking the price. "Give me four."
"Will you be eating them now or saving them for later?" she asked, picking up a pair of wooden tongs.
"Saving them for later," he replied simply.
She wrapped the four fresh puffs in aluminum foil, placed them in a small bag, and handed it over. "That's one hundred and sixty valis," she said, holding out the package.
Rex set the money on the counter and took the bag from her, nodding in thanks before placing it into his dungeon bag. He turned to leave.
"If you are looking for cheap potions!" she called out, stopping him as he pushed aside the cloth door. "I recommend you go to the Miach Familia store. They're cheaper, and the quality is not worse than the Dian Cecht Familia's."
'An unknown Familia selling cheaper potions than Dian Cecht, with almost the same quality?' He almost laughed at the thought. 'What an obvious scam.' Still, he gave a small nod. "I'll check it out."
He started to leave again when the woman spoke up once more. "You didn't ask me for their location. How will you check them out if you don't know where their store is?"
He paused, looking back. "Where is it?" he asked.
She gave him directions—ones so suspiciously roundabout that it seemed like she was leading him straight into a place where he could be robbed. As he turned to go for the third time, she called out again:
"When you get there, tell them that Hestia recommended you~!" she shouted. He didn't respond, simply leaving without another word.
Of course, he had no intention of visiting this 'Miach Familia store,' nor did he plan on returning to that stall. Instead, he headed for the Guild, intending to sell the Blue Papilio wings so he could afford a magic potion from Dian Cecht, and also ask a few questions.
The Guild was busy with its usual afternoon hustle, every clerk busy handling adventurers. Rex walked through the crowd, scanning the lines before choosing the shortest one and waited. When it was his turn, he stepped forward to a beautiful red-haired Werewolf with a resting bitch face standing behind the counter.
"Welcome to the guild," she greeted. "What brings you here today?" She didn't even sound like she meant that greeting.
'At least act like you want to be here.' He thought, looking down at the shorter werewolf. 'That's what customer service is.' He didn't care though. "How much would Blue Papilio wings sell for?" he asked without preamble, dropping his bag gently onto the floor beside him.
"Depending on their quality, they can go for anywhere between five and nine thousand valis each," she replied. "The average is around seven thousand. Do you wish to exchange one?"
"Yes." He nodded.
"Please, follow me." She stepped around the counter and Rex followed her into a small, private room dominated by a single large desk and one chair. She shut the door behind them and gestured to the desk. "If you could place the wings here, please."
Rex crouched beside his bag, carefully extracting four neatly folded wings, their vibrant blue shimmer muted under the artificial light. Each wing was about fourteen inches long, tightly folded to fit into his bag. Rose, the name written in the receptionist name tag, slipped on disposable gloves over her black leather ones and began spreading the wings out.
"It's recommended to sell them as quickly as possible after looting as they dry up and lose quality." she remarked, inspecting the edges for signs of dryness. "It looks like you collected the drop item about four hours ago. Is that so?"
"Uh-huh." He nodded, his eyes quickly scanning her body. 'She looks and smells nice.' He thought, his eyes on her long and fluffy tail with a red hue that matches her hair. 'I still need to get used to that tail—'
"I'll have them appraised for their price." Rose turned her full attention to him and he quickly met her eyes. If she noticed what he was looking at, he didn't know. "Do you have anything else to sell?"
"Yes." Rex opened his bag again, retrieving a bundle of orc hide tied neatly with rope and a shield-sized shell from a Hard Armored.
He dropped them onto the desk with a dull thud, then poured a handful of magic stones onto the table from one of his small pouches, the stones clinking together, their faint purple glow casting fleeting reflections on the desk. These are the stones he picked up before going down to the 10th floor.
"Very well." She gestured toward the door. "Please wait in the lobby while the items are appraised."
He nodded and left the room, his now-empty bag slung over his shoulder. Taking a seat in the lobby, he leaned back. 'How does making children work in this world?' He wondered, folding his arm.
Sadly, the old Rex never really learned anything about mating. Apart from the fact that humans can mate with anything or anyone child of the all female Amazoness race will always come out as an Amazoness, even if they fucked a male cat person.
'But can Chienthrops mate with Werewolves? Like if I had sex with Rose, will our genes allow for a child to be made?' He wondered, 'What about cat people and Weretigers? And if they could make a child, will the child either be the same species of one of the parents or a combination.' It was just a fleeting thought. He wasn't planning on getting childrens. He was far too lazy for that. 'Speaking of Chienthrope. Liliruca.'
She had supposedly died when she went down to hunt with the now missing raccoon, Canoe, but seeing as she was next to the protagonist when he was running… 'Is she the little girl that followed the bell around,' He thought back to what he remembered from the show. 'But that one was a Pallum, so does she have transformation magic?' He wasn't sure.
From the side of his vision, he saw Rose return and stood up with his bag to meet her at the counter, where she placed a small pouch on the counter.
"It all came out to sixteen thousand, six hundred twenty-seven valis," she stated, sliding the pouch and an itemized slip of paper toward him.
'That's less than I thought.' Rex's brow furrowed as he picked up the paper, scanning it quickly. His eyes caught on a note beside the Blue Papilio wings: Quality reduced due to being folded and not fresh. 'Ah, makes sense.'
He sighed internally and crumpled the slip of paper in his fist, and placed it into his pants pocket before transferring the magic stone from the guild pouch to his. With that, he left the Guild, and his next stop, Dian Cecht Familia closest shop.
'Or should I go to the main one to see if I can sell my dust?' He thought with a hum. 'Nah, let's just go to the closest one. The main shop would probably be busy and I don't want to waste any time—' He stopped walking as a memory flashed by. 'Wait, wasn't that big breasted woman that sold me the Potato Puffs, the goddess of the protagonist?'
He remembered a scene from the earlier episode of Bell running from the silver back while carrying her like a princess. 'It is her.' He nodded, 'So is the Miach Familia actually a good Familia and not a chance for daylight robbery? Should I check it out?' He doubts the protagonist Goddess will be evil. 'Hestia was her name, right?'
In Greek mythology, Hestia was one of the only ones you would actually consider good amongst the Twelve Olympians, but he guess not all the gods are similar to their Greek counterpart. Just look at Hephaestus. In Greek, it would be a 'he' and he would be ugly with a lot of deformities but in this world Hephaestus is a woman. He have never seen crafting 'goddess' but others have described her as a beautiful red head woman with an eyepatch.
'Whatever.' He shrugged. 'Let's just go check it out.'
[Author's Note: I don't know how to name chapters. Like, what would this chapter be called? Guild? Thoughts? Should I just forget about naming chapters?]