"What is it, mommy? What skill do I have now?" Shurry asked, excitedly anticipating the translated paper for him.
"It's a rather interesting skill from what I can see called, Wolf Pack. I'm sure you'll learn how to use it really well after a bit of practice." Hathor said, handing the paper to him.
Shurry read through the paper with great interest. "Woah! The dungeon is really good at making the numbers go up!!" He said, excitedly kicking the air, smiling. Hathor wrapped him up in her arms… "Mommy?" He uttered with a curious, and cute smile, paired with a couple ear flicks.
"It's nothing too serious, but I want you to stay cute and cuddly for as long as possible! You've been through so much already, it's time you enjoyed your childhood." She said with a squeeze. "I love you, Shurry, and I'm so glad you're here. Thank you for coming back from the dungeon safely."
Shurry's tail wagged with vigor. "I love you too mommy! You make my nightmares stay away."
…
Elsewhere the morning was bustling with activity, it had been a while since any repair work had been done to Bable Tower, but thanks to Zald's actions, there was now an excuse to make the much desired modifications. And so the dungeon had a handful of construction workers hauling and placing stones. Zald was also working his butt off by making the height adjustments, using his raw strength… Basically he was impersonating a support pillar.
…
All throughout the rest of the city, familias were making preparations for their own day. Businesses opened, and the slower drunkards barely wobbled their way back home for a nap. Adventurers practically raided the guild in search for new quests, and to get a real good look at the new titles the gods granted from their Denatus. There was also a short explanation about the tower's damage, and another quick story detailing the hilarious actions of a lone child barging in on the Denatus… It sorta became the talk of the town.
…
Shurry on the other hand, didn't care about that, he only had one thing on his mind… "Mommy, I'm really hungry."
"When are you not?"
"Uhm…" Shurry tried to think about a time where he'd never been unable to eat something, then shrugged cutely, wagging his tail. "I don't know?"
"Alright, well let's get some breakfast first then, and after we'll go see some of the restaurants around the city."
And the two of them did just that.
Legi, the friend from the School District that converted to the Hathor familia, was finishing up her breakfast when Shurry and Hathor came for their meals. "Morning Shurry!"
"Good morning Legi! Do you want to come try out more food stands with us today?" Shurry cheerfully spoke up.
Legi paused for a moment, then finished her meal. "Sorry Shurry, I can't today, or for the rest of the week. I'm going into the dungeon with our familia's team starting today."
"Oh?" Shurry said, tilting his head. Then, his eyes lit up knowing what that meant. Does that mean you figured out what type of fighting style you'll focus on?" He grew super excited, an emotion that everyone could clearly see.
"Yeah! It's so much better than I thought. I dual wield lots of different blades! I can even mix and match them with each other to adjust my style for whatever monster comes my way! It's so much fun!!!!! I actually passed the familia's pre dungeon test a few days before you got back."
"Oh it's good to see you so excited, so early in the morning. It's almost as if we're going on a vacation instead." Bokhoir laughed, as he too finished his meal. "I made the choice to wait for Shurry to return safely, with him by Hathor's side, the only familias that can do any real harm now are all allies, or ones we'd be unable to handle regardless." He chuckled, then seemed like he just remembered something. "By the way, Shurry, those Mruit trees, the chefs were wondering if they could experiment with the fruits that grow on them? With such a rare ingredient with that much availability, it could slowly become a really expensive dish making the familia a ton of money-"
Shurry, hearing that, thought of one simple question. "Does that mean we can buy more meat with it?!" His face full of anticipation, and he accidentally transformed purely at the thought of wolfing down a sea of meat. Much tastier than the Mruits!
"Ahahaha!!!! Of course, the more money coming in, the more meat can come in too."
"YAY! MEAT!!!! Chef experiment away!" He cheered, transforming back to normal, and taking his seat at the table as a veritable mountain of food was brought out for him… It was a thing they did not to give him special treatment, but to make sure he didn't eat everyone else's food too… That would be bad. He proceeded to devour the breakfast like he hadn't eaten anything in months.
Legi had gone to prepare for the dungeon exploration team, and then returned to see Shurry chowing down on the second large portion. "Shurry, look, you like my gear?" She started showing off quick draws, and airborne acrobatics. All in all, she had improved to a considerable degree in many ways. I hope he likes this… I want to be a good big sister!
"That was so cool! It's like you're at home in that gear!"
"I know right! It's amazing! Want to spar a bit?"
"Hey, no sparing right before the dungeon dive. Showing off a little like this is fine, but a spar expends more energy than I'm willing to let you use right now. You can play around a bit after this dive." Bokhoir said, and then took a swig from his mug, following it up with a serious and firm drop on the table. "Remember, our goal this time is to slay the Goliath that'll respawn in half a day's time. From there we will rest on the 18th floor, and launch attacks on the 19th floor to build up some experience. After which we will slay Goliath for the second time on our way back up. We'll be gone for a little more than two weeks."