Author's Notes: Chapter edited and corrected by Scott Fellman.
Bellatrix Pov.
Once I left the portal, I looked around. I seemed to be in the middle of an alley. In front of me, I could see a crowd of people walking from one side to the other; none seemed to notice my presence at the moment.
With a flick of my hand, I pulled out my backstory papers, quickly skimmed through them, and one of my eyebrows raised slightly. Bellatrix Prince, Serena's wife. Interesting.
I smiled slightly before putting away the papers. There was nothing more interesting; I was just a simple traveler who had just arrived in Orario. It's not like this world has a way of checking documents, or if I'm telling the truth.
The only thing that would matter, apparently, is if I spoke to a god, I would take as 'truth' everything that was written on those papers, which wasn't much, so I could improvise a lot by telling half-truths.
With that settled, I walked out of the alley, and everyone immediately looked at me. I almost wanted to snort, but I held it back. I was dressed in my white suit and purple snood. I guess I was drawing too much attention to myself.
I looked around, and maybe yes, my clothing didn't match anything the villagers were wearing. First, there was nothing as predominantly white as my outfit, and second, all the clothes seemed light because of the warm weather.
My white suit and trench coat, along with a furry white hat and a purple knit scarf, stood out too much. I ignored them and immediately focused my gaze on the enormous tower in the distance.
Babel.
I started walking, ignoring the wide-eyed stares of everyone around me. The good thing was that it seemed like I'd stepped onto one of the main streets, so the walk to Babel was practically in a straight line.
People moved around and let me pass without any problem, so in a few minutes I was at the bottom of the tower.
Now… where is that guild building supposed to be… I looked at the nearest person with a spear.
"You, where is the guild?" I asked him directly, the... man? No, kid, with that face, he can't even be 15. The boy was startled and blushed deeply.
"M-me-me?!" the boy squealed. I looked at him blankly and raised an eyebrow.
"The guild." I repeated myself.
"A-ah, yes! I- it's in that direction!! It's a big building! " the boy stammered sharply, and I started walking in the direction he pointed. I ignored the boy's shouts that seemed to be talking to me.
Oh… white hair, red eyes, too young and innocent, that was Bell Cranel. I suppressed a grimace and kept walking. The last thing I wanted was to get involved in all the trouble his presence brought. I was here to kill monsters in the dungeon, nothing more.
The path to the guild was in a straight line once again. The city, from what I could see, seemed to be the same size, or bigger than Pentagram City in the underworld, so it took me another 20 minutes to get there until I saw the building where a large number of armed people were entering and leaving.
I guess that's the guild hall. I entered the building, quickly looked inside, and approached the front where it was free. The receptionist looked at me, her eyes widening slightly. She stared at me for a few seconds, her expression one of shock. I raised an eyebrow at her. That seemed to wake the receptionist up; she cleared her throat and looked at me.
"Oh? Hello! I'm Eina Tulle. This must be your first time in Orario? Were you looking for something? " the receptionist asked with a light smile. I glanced at her over quickly, with her brown hair, green eyes, and focused on her ears, whether she was the elf, or well, half-elf, Eina Tulle.
"I'm looking for a list of the Familias that are recruiting," I said directly. Eina's smile fell slightly, but remained.
"Oh? Okay, wait a second," Eina said as she stepped back and searched for some papers. She quickly came over and placed several on the counter. "Here are the Families that are actively recruiting. What kind of Familia are you interested in? Crafting, medicinal, or blacksmithing? Business? Merchants? Or exploration?"
I looked at Eina Tulle's papers and frowned. I couldn't read them. True, the universal translation for demons only worked for the spoken language.
"I can't read the language." I mentally sent Sera. I could feel a few seconds of delay before I felt Sera on my mind, then I heard her laugh.
"Yes, you can," Sera said, amusedly. I rolled my eyes.
"Get to the point, I don't have time for your games." I mentally spat. Sera just laughed once more.
"Fin, fine, fine, it's written in English," Sera said, and I frowned as I looked at the words, still not being able to understand them.
" Either you tell me what I'm missing or for the love of-"
"It's English, only the font is different." Sera laughed, I frowned, and looked at the letters once more. This time, Sera pushed the necessary information, and I wanted to groan; I wanted to kill the damn author or whoever had created this alphabet.
All the letters had been altered with tiny details here and there, it almost seemed impossible to think they were the original script, but there they were if you knew what to look for… whoever made the language, took the alphabet, tore it apart and changed it slightly to make it look exotic and unique without going to the trouble of creating a new language.
I'd kill him. I heard Sera's laughter in my head before I pushed her away.
"Excuse me, do you know how to read Koine? I have other languages available, or I can read them for you," Eina said politely.
"I can read." I grunted slightly as I began to separate the papers. "I don't see the Miach familia," I said as I quickly looked through all the papers.
"Oh! A medicinal familia? " I could hear Eina sigh in relief. "Yes, Miach is looking for members, but he didn't post any ads. He owes another familia a debt, so he isn't actively looking since new adventurers don't want to take on the debt."
"But if you're looking for a medicinal family, there's also Dian Cecht," Eina said, pulling out a piece of paper. "The Dian Cecht Family creates and sells potions and arti- "
"I asked about the Miach." I interrupted her sharply. Eina seemed startled.
"But… the Dian Cecht Family is bigger, you can progress quite a bit-"
"Miach." I interrupted once more as I glared at her. "Either you tell me where to find the god Miach, or I'll search for him myself." I said once more. Eina looked conflicted before sighing.
"Yes… of course." Eina sighed resignedly as she grabbed a piece of paper. "I'll write you a map and a guide to the Miach familia pharmacy; it's not that far from here." Eina finished writing on the paper and handed it to me. I grabbed it and turned around. "Ah! Wait-"
I left the guild before turning and following the directions on the map, almost wincing as I walked through the uneven, disorderly alleys and streets. Eina was right, Miach's pharmacy wasn't that far away.
Blue Pharmacy.
I entered the store, and the smell of potions and medicines filled my nose. It would almost be nostalgic if that smell didn't constantly permeate Sera, whose scent I could still smell a few hours ago.
"Welcome to Blue Pharmacy, how can I help you?" Asked a bored and sleepy voice. I looked in her direction, brown hair and dog ears, Naaza Erisuis. Naaza looked up to stare at me and froze as soon as she looked at me. Really, that attitude was starting to annoy me.
"I'm looking for Miach," I said directly, Naaza's expression losing its sleepy and shocked look before she narrowed her eyes slightly, almost imperceptibly.
"I'm sorry, God Miach went out on an errand. I can leave a message if you need to, or if you have a request, I can take it," Naaza said immediately. I was about to open my mouth when the door behind Naaza opened.
A rather handsome man with blue hair and eyes and a kind look appeared from the doorway. He had a box in his arms as he began to speak.
"Naaza, here I have the next batch- oh? a new client? What can I offer you? " Asked the person I recognized as Miach. He smiled broadly and kindly. I ignored him and looked at Naaza, raising an eyebrow in her direction. She just stared back, unashamed. I'd give her some credit for that.
"I want to join your familia." I looked at Miach as I said that. Miach's eyes widened before he smiled.
"Do you want to join my familia?! Of course-"
"We have a debt," Naaza interrupted her god almost coldly. "We are deeply in debt to another god; most of your earnings will go to paying off the debt. We also can't help you progress; we don't have the money to buy supplies so you can develop your skills."
Miach almost looked like his puppy had been kicked as he pouted, pun not intended. Naaza just looked at me coldly, and I raised an eyebrow in his direction.
"I'm not a potioneer, and I don't want to be a potioneer. I'm going into the dungeon." I said honestly, this time, both of them looked at me, confused, even Naaza seemed slightly unbalanced.
"Excuse me… but we're a medicinal Familia. If you're looking for an exploration Family, can I recommend a friend of mine? She just had her first child, so I'm sure she'd be thrilled to have a second so soon," Miach said with a kind smile. I snorted in amusement.
"No need, I want to join this familia." I said again, lowering The Company's defenses so Miach could detect the truth of my words, Miach looked at me strangely.
"Are you… telling the truth, why?" Miach asked, confused. I nodded.
"I want to make a deal with you." They both tensed when they heard me. "I enter the dungeon, kill monsters, collect their magic stones and drops, you keep half of what I get, I keep the rest. In return, I want the recipes for your potions."
"No," Naaza said firmly, glaring at me. "You can go and tell Dian Cecht or whoever sent you—"
"No god sent me, directly or indirectly," I said honestly, interrupting Naaza.
"I don't care -"
"She's telling the truth," Miach interrupted his daughter. Naaza looked puzzled. "Why... why do you want the recipes?" Miach asked, sounding more curious than anything.
"My wife, she is-"
"Wife?!" Naaza exclaimed in surprise. I raised an eyebrow in her direction.
" Yes, wife, yes, I am a woman, my wife too. She is a witch, she specializes in potions, she creates many potions, and she likes to experiment with other recipes. She was too busy to come to Orario."
"I wanted to try out the dungeon for myself, and since I'm passing through, I'll get the recipes for my wife as a gift if I can," I said honestly. Miach looked at me in surprise. Naaza looked at her god, almost expecting a sentence, but he just nodded.
"She's telling the truth, in everything, again," Miach said honestly, sounding surprised.
"Even so, we refuse. Our recipes are the only thing keeping us afloat," Naaza said bluntly. I bowed my head slightly.
"My wife has no intention of coming to Orario to sell her potions, and if accepting half of my earnings isn't enough of a steady supply of money and dungeon resources, how about 70%?" I said simply that I appreciated it, surprising both of them.
"Even if you are generous enough, it wouldn't make sense. We'd spend more to support you as a level 1 adventurer with a newly installed Falna. Weapons, armor, hiring equipment, and lost profits if you join other adventurers—we don't have the money for that." Naaza immediately retorted.
"I don't need any of that," I snorted. "I'm strong, I have faith in fighting an adventurer of at least level 4," I said immediately, Miach's eyes widening slightly.
"True," Miach said immediately. "Do you already have a Falna?" Miach asked, surprised. I shook my head.
"Impossible." Naaza said, "You implied that you are not from Orario, you have no knowledge about adventurers," and I shrugged.
"Whatever you think, I may not have fought them directly, but I've seen what they're capable of. I have full confidence in fighting adventurers of level 4 or higher." I said honestly.
Miach and Naaza fell silent for a moment, staring at each other as they began to argue almost mentally. Miach was the first to look away and look directly at me.
"We accept," Miach said. I looked at him as he smiled. "I accept you into my family, and the recipes are yours in exchange for 50% of your earnings from the dungeon." Miach said without hesitation. I raised an eyebrow in his direction. Only 50?
"Miach-sama, no!" Naaza tried to say, but he just looked at her before smiling.
"Don't worry," Miach said with a smile. "Besides, it's not like we have any options. We still need the money to pay Dian Cecht; a dungeon explorer could help with that," Miach added.
"So why not accept the 70% she offered?" Naaza asked forcefully. Miach just smiled broadly.
"Because she'll still be my daughter," Miach said with a gentle smile. "I already feel bad about taking away some of her earnings, but it will only be until the debt to Dian Cecht is fully paid, then she'll keep the profits for herself," Miach added gently.
"And then we'll go bankrupt because she'll decide to walk away with the prescriptions the moment we give them to her," Naaza grunted.
"I won't," I said immediately. "All I want are your potion recipes for my wife, nothing more, nothing less. And then I want a Falna to dungeon dive with. And those two things aren't necessarily related. If necessary, I could join another family, raise money, and buy the recipes from you for a high price."
"My wife heard good things about Miach, so you were her first recommendation. Besides, this Family is small, I can delve into the dungeon any way I want without worry, that's all I want." I said honestly. Miach nodded.
"All true, once again. I'm glad your wife thinks highly of me, but why can't your wife come to Orario, when she has spies within the city? " Miach asked, not seeming concerned. In fact, he almost seemed to preen at the praise. I shrugged.
"Only an idiot neglects and ignores the gods, not because they are important, but because they are arrogant. The gods are content to reside in Orario and have fun here in the dungeon; if the dungeon weren't there, they would be capable of starting wars just for fun, like Ares." I said dryly.
Miach grimaced while Naaza shuddered, but neither denied my words.
"Fine, do what you want, but I'll tell you, 'I told you so' when everything ends badly." Naaza said bitterly, Miach sighed, but smiled tiredly.
"So... shall we begin? Please take off your top so I can put on the Falna," Miach said with an even more excited smile. I nodded as I began to undress, while Miach laughed lightly as he took out a needle.
"Naaza, please close the shop and bring a sheet of paper to copy my new daughter's Falna," Miach said, almost cheerful despite the circumstances. Naaza snorted, but did what Miach told her to do.
She locked the door and then went to look for the paper in the back room. I could feel the drop of Miach's blood fall on my back.
I shuddered slightly as I felt Falna's power course through me. I immediately used The Company's defenses to hide most of its abilities.
"What the hell…" Miach muttered in disbelief.
"Here it is," Naaza said, walking back in. She came closer and looked at my back before choking on air. "She has three skills and two magics?!" Naaza exclaimed incredulously. My eyebrows raised slightly; didn't the defenses hide everything?
"Let me copy it down for you to see. Maybe you can make some sense of it. I've... never seen anything like this before." Miach muttered as he placed the paper on my back. Once he peeled it off, I didn't even bother covering myself. I just turned around and grabbed the paper Miach handed me.
I started reading it quickly.
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Bellatrix Prince
Level 1
Basic Abilities
Strength - I 0
Endurance - I 0
Dexterity - I 0
Agility - I 0
Magic - I 0
Developmental Abilities
(-)
Skills
Mad Devotion → Accelerated growth while the user is madly in love. The intensity of the effects corresponds to the user's level of feelings. As a side effect, it makes them immune to charms. The user's stats temporarily increase when the target of their feelings is in danger.
Ultimate Undead →Allows the user to drink the blood of beasts, humans, and monsters to increase their stats. Drinking blood causes Bloodlust. Stats increase temporarily, battle desire increases, bloodlust increases, and inhibitions and reason become lost the more blood the user drinks.
Curse Focus → Increases the power of dark arts when targeting living beings.
Magic
Impaler Queen's Edict → Level boost for the user and their allies in combat on fortified or defensive terrain under their control.
"They are savages invading my territory
And they mock me with their arrogance!
We are heroes!
And we fight against despair!
Only death awaits those fools!
Kill them with a smile on your faces! "
Will of D.read → Her mere presence decreases the stats of enemies. Range and intensity depend on the user's level. Depends on the user's Willpower. Can be resisted.
It does not require any chanting.
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Oh... yeah, I see the problem now... I suppose the contractors and their entourages are designed to stand out in every world they visit. And I thought it was always Sera's fault. Now let's see how I explain that.
Author's Notes: Were they okay? I hope so. I was opening and closing Cyberpunk 2077 all the time and always ended up getting distracted, so I hope it turned out well!
Cyberpunk's street slang is tricky, especially in the sense that it breaks the syntax of sentences a lot when running them through a machine translator. Especially because it's different in Spanish than in English, I'll be using the English version primarily because it's more convenient to translate, but if there are any mistakes, don't be afraid to point them out!
Should I mix and match chapters? 1 by 1? 2 by 2? 3 by 3? Or should I write an entire arc, from one POV all at once, before switching to the other?