7.6 K words.
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/CHEERS!/
The sound of blowhorns rang loudly under the cries of determination as the forces of the Loki Familia departed from the Twilight Manor.
Banners raised, armor worn, blades sheathed, they marched through the central street, from the North of Orario to its center, until the tower of the Gods came into sight.
People watched from the entrances of their homes and the windows above, even in this extreme cold, the people cheered for their success, for the heroes of this generation they were.
Well over a hundred adventurers, their Levels ranging from 1 to 6, stood side by side as they pooled around the Central Plaza.
As they stopped, everyone moved in harmony, with Finn not even having to say anything.
Wagons were pushed forward, supporters entered formations, friends stopped talking, taking posts, knights and shield bearers took position with their teams…
It was a smooth transition from their parade to combat readiness. The fun was over, and no matter how little it was, from here on out it was the domain of monsters.
"It's a whole other world..." Silver muttered as he looked around
/Clack.../
An armored man approached him, tapping the back of his armor.
"Boy, had enough gawking around?" Gareth asked as he walked past him, "You're coming with us, get a move on, the others will follow us shortly."
"Yes?"
'I was wondering where I fit in all of this, I suppose this answers it.'
Silver didn't have the time to question things as Gareth was already in the distance, climbing the steps to Babel.
He ran after him, meeting the team already waiting at the entrance to the Dungeon.
"You're late, old man, and who's the tin can?"
Silver was immediately met with a pair of extremely sharp, beast-like orange eyes, and an overall unpleasant atmosphere.
A gray-haired werewolf stood by one of the entrances, arms crossed as he munched on something to relieve his boredom.
Gareth, however, had none of it, "Shush it, Bete, we haven't even begun yet. If ye have the energy to argue, then throw it at the monsters." He said as he walked past him
He raised his right hand, thumb pointing at Silver, "He'll be our Supporter, introductions aren't needed, I wager. Finn debriefed you on this already."
Bete snickered as he walked off the wall, "So he's the one with the unprecedented magic? Can't say I'm impressed." He added as he looked at Silver up and down.
He turned around, "Just don't slow us down."
Before Silver could even respond, he had already gone downstairs with his hands in his pockets.
"Sure thing…"
'A man with a deep aura... if my grandfather was here, he'd say this guy is either an asshole by nature... or someone who suffered too much to care.'
'By my experience, he sees to be projecting his own insecurities onto others.'
Amidst his thoughts, the others stepped closer.
"Don't mind him, he says a lot of things, but like a small dog, he just barks." Tione said as she smirked at Silver
"I HEARD THAT!" Bete exclaimed from beyond sight
Tiona approached him with a wide smile, "So we meet again, Mr Telekinesis Man!"
As eager as always, she stood with her arms behind her back, and unlike Gareth and himself, she wore no armor at all, just a few pieces of clothing, the usual he had seen her and her sister wear.
'Amazons sure can tank this cold… how can she be barefooted when the ground is freezing? Or rather, I suppose this cold isn't enough to do much to her.'
Not trying to be rude, Silver was quick to stop sizing them up, "It's good to see you all as well. We haven't had the time to catch up since last time, I hope you're all doing well."
"Well met! You sure like your armors. Before, it was red and now its uh... black?"
"It's more of a dark gray then anything..."
He looked at each of them until his eyes fell on the golden-haired swordswoman… but something was different.
Ais looked away, arms crossed… but a question remained…
'Why is she wearing a mask and a thick scarf around her neck? Is she that cold?'
Perhaps noticing his gaze, Tione sighed, "Ais, aren't you going to greet him? Don't be rude like that guy down there."
"… Hello…"
She looked away even more, almost as if she wanted to fully avoid eye contact.
"… What happened?" Silver asked as he whispered at the Amazon sisters
"It's a long story…"
"ARE YOU COMING OR NOT?!"
Bete's screams echoed in the entrance, startling not only them but everyone, especially the lower-level adventurers.
If anyone had yet to wake up, now was the time they had.
"We should go. We can't stand around for long either." Gareth added as he walked downstairs
Ais scrambled after him like a headless chicken, weaving left and right as she tried to avoid getting into Silver's sight… or rather, anyone's.
'For such a cold-looking girl, it seems even her has something to be embarrassed about.' Silver thought as he saw her walk away
"Well… you heard him, let's talk more on the way." Tione said as she went after Gareth
Tiona went after her sister, walking backward as she faced Silver, "Come on! If you stand around too long, Bete's gonna leave us!"
Silver chuckled as he stepped on the edge of the entrance, looking down at the world bellow, "So why don't we take the shortcut?"
"Hm?"
(Image)
…
"… Where are those two?" Tione asked as she turned around
On the spiral stairs leading to the First Floor, Tiona, Gareth, and Ais, stood next to one another as Bete's grey head could be seen in the distance below them as he skipped the steps... three if not more stairs at a time.
Other adventurers looked at them, often merely glancing and whispering in silence as they went on their way. The group was already used to this, treating their words and curiosity as background noise.
No one stood on their path, if anything, they greeted them quietly. Some of them, the veterans, even received their greetings in reply as they walked past each other.
Gareth did most of the greeting, however... the others didn't seem that sociable, or interested in doing so at least.
Was there even a need to mention Bete?...
At Tione's worries, Gareth didn't even look back, "They'll pop up soon enough…"
"YAAAAAY!!"
""???""
As they walked down, the air went turbulent as Tiona and Silver flew past them, diving like falcons in the sky!
"There they are…" Ais said as she looked over the edge
Inside her mind, a little girl seemed to usher her to jump down... wanting to laugh and be free as well.
Tione was not amused by this, "That girl… I told her not to do this kind of thing! She's not a kid anymore…"
"Buwahaha!… and here I thought the cold had toned her down a little, so she was waiting for this." Gareth added with a chuckle without taking a second glance at them, like a grandfather watching two kids fall in the mud from a porch
"Looks we are the ones who should be in a hurry." He said as he sped up a little
"Slow down!… Haa… how can he be so fast with such short legs? Let's go Ais… before Bete starts complaining to us."
"Uhum…"
'Telekinesis... it sounds fun.'
…
/Shuaa!/
Silver and Tiona reached the bottom of the stairs, stepping onto the hall leading to Beginning Road.
Not many adventurers could be seen walking around. Perhaps the combination of the heavy weather and the announcement of the Loki Familia's expedition led to most adventurers choosing to delay their operations if not outright skip them for the day.
After all, once the Loki Familia passed through, the Dungeon would remain quiet for quite a while...
As Silver let go of her, Tiona laughed as she jumped around to warm herself up, "Yaaay! Let's do that again some other time."
"Can't you just jump down whenever you feel like it?" Silver asked as he floated beside her, landing calmly
"The Guild forbids anyone from jumping down the main shaft." She replied as she puffed her cheeks, "The lifts are often being used, so if we jump and crash down, it causes quite some trouble."
"You seem to speak from experience…"
'Was this the reason why there were Guild employees outside the entrance? Were they there to coordinate with the Loki Familia?'
'There's still a lot to learn regarding logistics...'
"Hehehe… I did that once when I entered the Dungeon for the first time, it was quite embarrassing." She replied as she scratched the back of her head
"I was scolded quite a bit by Riveria, I was upset at her for quite a while, but its fine, I was to blame anyway."
"I can imagine it…"
As they talked, Bete arrived from one of the entrances.
He merely glanced at them, at Silver, for a moment before walking down the road in silence.
"… He's not much of a talker, is he?"
Tiona laughed faintly, "But when he talks, you'd wish he stayed quiet."
"After you spend some time around him, and maybe Level Up a little, he'll stop gawking at you the way he does."
"Is that a good thing?..."
"You two okay down there? No accidents this time around?" Gareth asked as he stepped out of the stairs
"That was so long ago!" She replied as she got a little embarrassed
"Seeing you jump like this brought back some memories, that's all. Buwahaha!"
Gareth walked to them, "Let's go! The First String of the Loki Familia begins its excursion!"
""Yay!""
"Yay…"
Tiona and Tione raised their fists eagerly, while Ais raised hers as she looked away.
"First String? Aren't there more than just the few of you on the First String?"
"Of course there is!" Tione said as she put a hand on her hips, "But they have their own responsibilities."
"Finn likes security." Gareth added as he followed Bete, who was already in the distance
"… Since we're here now, may I ask why I'm with you all? Nothing against it, I just thought that… you know?"
"It was Finn's decision. He decided that having you be escorted to the Rivira with us was safer than with them. And what I mean by that is that he didn't want to think about you."
"Huh?"
Shaking his head, the old Dwarf had some melancholy in his tone as well as a bit of helplessness, "Finn has a lot on his mind at all times. A terrible habit of his… so he tries to simplify things as much as he can."
"Thus, he put you with us. To him, you're as good as in Rivira now." Gareth pointed out as Silver looked at the ceiling
"I see, better to get it over with then worry about it all the way down."
"It's probably a bit more complicated then that." Tione added as she shrugged, "Knowing Captain, he worries about at least three more things then anything we can think off… and he likely thought of that a few days ago as well."
"The duties and responsibilities of a captain." Silver said with a sigh as he put his hand on the wall
Tione shook her head, "Not just any captain! The Captain!"
Silver chuckled, "I can't deny that."
'Finn is widely regarded as one of the most prominent captains of Orario. If not for Ottar's fame as the strongest and also the captain of the strongest Familia, he probably would take the spot of number 1 Familia captain.'
'A few other notable names would be the captains of the big Familias...'
Silver then looked at Ais, who was mostly silent.
Their eyes met for a moment, and Silver noticed that her face was mildly red around her cheeks. That was when she lifted her mask even higher, covering her nose completely.
He wanted to pry more, but chose not to. Like that, the group dove into the distance. Soon enough, no more adventurers could be seen.
They had stepped into the corridors of the Dungeon…
…
They kept descending, and within half an hour, they found themselves on the 5th Floor...
/SLASH!/
Gareth swung his axe down with precision and force, perfectly slicing a Goblin in half.
Hearing the air being split apart by the massive hunk of unknown metal flying around, Silver gulped dry, "… Say… isn't that axe a little too big to use here in the Upper Floors?"
"Hum? Indeed, it's a bit much."
Gareth looked at his axe, the Grand Axe, his prized weapon… A single-edged axe with a large metal block serving as both a counterweight and a hammer on the other side.
Fit for a Dwarf to use, its edge alone was almost as wide as Silver's chest…
(Image)
"I completely forgot to ask for another weapon."
"It's not like it matters much, right?" Tiona asked as she pulled her fist from inside a Goblin's skull, swinging it around as she cleared the blood off it
Tione looked at her sister with some frustration, trying to keep the blood from splashing on her before wiping off her twin daggers with a graceful movement, "We're used to the old man's wide swings… it's almost instinctive now."
Ais nodded in silence as she faced the wall, "Uhum…"
"I see…"
'I feel like I almost lost a limb or two in the last five minutes alone… the others don't help either. They might look light given their size, but if any of those Amazons even light pulls their elbows back after a punch, they'll drill a whole through my armor.'
'This is good armor, but its only at the grade of what a Level 3 adventurer would get.'
'They fight incredibly well together, but I'm finding myself either standing too far, or too close to their "mayhem"...'
After thinking for a moment, he reached a solution, "If its a weapon you need…"
/Fuon…/
He reached out for the wall, and a ripple of dark fog spread out on its surface…
As the dark mass swirled, a portal of sorts formed before all of them.
/Step…/
Silver stepped forward, his voice echoing from within, "Do you have a preference?"
""…""
Gareth smiled slightly, "I completely forgot you could do that… I'm still not used to it."
They all agreed.
Scratching the back of his head, he remembered something as he pointed out, "Look for a box with my name in it. It should be quite visible."
"I have a contract so I can't use just any equipment, you see."
Silver's surprised voice came from within the darkness, "Really?…" Followed by the echoes of boxes moving around and metal clinging, "Give me a moment, I uh... I found it!"
/Click clack.../
"There are quite a few things here…" He said as he shuffled around
"Stop sniffing around and get me a sword." Gareth said with a sigh as he put his axe down with one hand
"Man… can you even call this a sword? It's thrice as wide as my arm and the tip is flat… a bit too large for its style."
"That one will do."
Within the portal, Silver's gasping voice echoed... "UGH!"
Silver stepped out of the portal with Gareth's rectangular sword barely scraping on the ground... exchanging it for the axe.
"Thank you lad, this sure is convenient." Gareth added as he dropped his axe in Silver's hands…
/CLANG!/
Silver immediately let it fall on the ground, almost slashing through his feet…
"UGH!… The hell is this made out of?!"
'I think this is heavier than a Minotaur! Maybe two!'
Underneath the helmet, his face was growing red as he tried to lift it. But even with telekinesis, he could barely counterbalance it.
"Oops, my mistake. I forgot you were Level 1… you're quite strong to lift it. Keep up the good work and you'll be as strong as me." Gareth said in a pleased tone as he slapped Silver's shoulder
"Huff…"
/THUD!/
With trembling steps, Silver got inside the pocket space and "gently" lowered his blade, fearing its weight alone would shatter it.
After he was done with that, he took the opportunity to leave his backpack behind. He only used it for the sake of theatrics anyway, he didn't need it anymore.
As he left, wiping his gauntlets, he reached out for the others:
"Anyone want anything? Water? Food? Another weapon?"
"More than that, I wanted to ask how you did all of this. You just called for it without chanting, I've never seen such a thing before." Tione said as she brushed her hair aside
Silver cracked his shoulders and stretched his back, "Didn't I say this before? My magic doesn't need constant chanting to work. Once a 'room' is created, I can access it anytime I want."
"That's…"
"Do you have something to wipe my hands?" Tiona asked as she raised her hands, slightly embarrassed
"… Sure."
Silver merely reached out into the void and pulled a towel. And with everyone refusing his offer, they moved on as the vortex closed behind him.
/Clink…/
And as they walked after Bete, who couldn't be seen anymore, Silver kept collecting the dropped items with telekinesis, shoving them inside tiny bubbles of dark fog above his palm.
He also had a small notebook on his other hand, a small pen flying above it as it wrote down everything they hinted.
If one read closely, he was keeping track of every single item and magic stone he collected, and even keeping tabs on who killed what.
Seeing his efforts, Tione was amazed and even a little jealous, "Honestly, I was always bothered by how long it took to take all of those."
A treasure for a Level 1 is nothing but a waste of time for a Level 5, yet even so, what kept Orario running was often these little rules being kept in line by all, regardless of level.
Not all followed these rules and etiquette, but that was the Guild was there to enforce rules and help improve the safety in an already deadly environment.
Her sister agreed, "We tend to break them instead. Far faster than collecting them after." Tiona added as she saw the magic stones fly from the ground and into Silver's hands
"As for the drop items... its whoever gets them."
She turned to him, "Is that how you always hunt? Must be nice…"
Silver crouched down to grab a Goblin's nail, looking at its state before he threw it on his vortex, "… No." Silver replied as he closed it.
"This is too slow."
Tione snickered, "Well then, why don't you show us how good you are then?"
Silver raised an eyebrow underneath his helmet, "Really?"
"Yeah. Since you said that, man up to your words. I'll let you take charge." She said with a teasing smile, fully expecting Silver to step back
Instead, Silver looked at Gareth, "Can I? I understand that I don't represent myself solely given our circumstances…"
He shrugged, "Do as you wish, it's just the Upper Floors, if you can't handle this much, I'll be disappointed." He added with a chuckle as he put his sword on his shoulder
"But don't go too far."
Emboldened, Tione chuckled, "You heard him. Show us what you can do! Little Goliath Slayer."
"… Where did that come from?"
"That's what some people called you after you bragged taking Goliath down." She replied with a shrug as tilted her back a little, thinking of the past
"Bragged? I guess that can be taken as bragging…"'
'So that's why she's been oddly distant if not nitpicky at me. Is she still bothered by me cashing in on the Goliath's magic stone after Ottar killed it?'
'Perhaps she thinks I'm an opportunistic man who rides in on the fame of others... this is the kind of attitude often seen in the guys working around Rivira... or so I've been told.'
'I expected others to not see me well, but this is an unexpected casualty.' He thought as a smile crept up on his face
Silver closed his notebook and put it inside his vortex before he cracked his knuckles and stretched his arms.
"Shall we make a dash until the Middle Floors? Is that much fine?"
The old dwarf looked ahead for a moment before turning to him, "As long as you keep going through the planned route… it doesn't matter." He said as he sighed faintly
"Just try to clear as many monsters as you can."
"... Then I'll give it a try."
"Don't go chicken now..."
"Tione..."
'What's up with her? I feel like she's been trying to get at him today.'
"..."
Silver ignored her as he put his hand forward, "~Nifrael~"
'I have to work on my chant, almost coughed this time...'
The air grew heavy, pooling around their feet as the crackling of ice echoed in the caverns.
Before them, a spear of ice manifested in the air before being grasped by Silver.
As ice formed on the edges of his dark plate armor, he stepped forward, "Want to keep count?"
"Of what?" Tione asked as she raised an eyebrow
"Of how many monsters I can take down and the time until we reach the Middle Floors. Maybe we can see if I can beat your record."
"Haaa?"
'Look at this guy... isn't he confident?!'
/Shua!/
""!""
But all of a sudden, Silver took flying, gliding along the ground as he slid on an ice disc!
"Woah! That looks so much fun!"
"I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting that… and he looks like he's speeding up… he's gone." Tione pointed out as she squinted her eyes
'That's faster then I expected him to be. Is his magic really just an enchant? His control over it is far greater then Ais has over hers.'
"Are you going to let him go out alone? Go after him!" Gareth demanded as he scoffed, "You gave him the idea so at least stick up with him."
"I'll stay behind and take down any stragglers, now go."
"No need to tell me twice."
/Shua!/
Tione and Tiona ran after Silver, vanishing with a speed far greater than before.
"… You can go if you want Ais, I can handle myself just fine. There's enough fire in me to run to the Lower Floors, the 18th Floor isn't even a hike to these old bones."
"… Really? I don't want to burden you too much."
"It's fine, I'm just a tad too old to run after you kids. I'll clear what you leave behind and keep the Dungeon off ye backs."
"We're already early, anyway. The boy's abilities were more useful than I expected… it's no wonder he called himself the ultimate porter." He laughed as he patted his stomach
"Don't leave them waiting!"
Ais smiled underneath her mask as she nodded at Gareth, thanking him for his efforts.
Before long, she too ran ahead into the dark caverns, leaving behind a wave of wind that lifted dust and rubble in its wake.
/Crack…/
And just as she left, the walls began to shatter open… cracks formed in the solid stone, exposing veins of colorful core rock that were full of power.
"Give me a break, will ya? Just because I didn't go play with them, it doesn't mean I can play with you." Gareth said as he put his sword down
/GROWL!/
Monsters poured out from the surrounding walls, far more than before!
"You think I'm easy prey just became I'm by meself? I don't even need my blade to deal with the likes of you… but it would be embarrassing to get all dirty this soon."
'Last thing I want is that old elf laughing at me...'
"Let's get this done as quickly and cleanly as possible!"
Gareth raised his blade…
…
/SHAA…/
Silver glided through the caverns of the Upper Floors, ice spear in hand.
Leaving behind a trail of ice crystals, snow, and melting water, he flew over the ground in a hunting position, like a fisherman on a riverbed, waiting for prey to swim to the surface…
"KUAAA!!"
"GIGIGKI!"
/PIERCE!/
Whenever monsters appeared, regardless of size, he punctured their vitals with his spear! Killing them on the spot!
Dragging their bodies across the air, he skewered them as he moved from one hallway to the next.
Groups of monsters were taken down in graceful confrontations, with the gray knight jumping and kicking with his ice disk, slashing and piercing everything in his path in bizarre angles and directions!
He left behind a trail of corpses and frozen entrails. Whatever of worth he left behind soon came to life… flying magic stones and drop items flew after him, quickly devoured by a formless maw that appeared whenever one least expected.
/Shuaa…/
Bete stood at the end of the fifth floor, arms crossed as he waited on the staircase to the next floor.
He had an expression of displeasure as he waited, already with the words he planned to scream at his companions… but soon enough, his wolf's ears perked up at the echoes of something fast approaching.
"What the…"
"Passing by!"
An ice arrow flew past Bete, sliding into the staircase! As if the ceiling were the ground, Silver slid down onto the Dungeon's second floor, leaving Bete flabbergasted as he failed to process what had just occurred.
"… What the fuck was that?!"
/Step step…/
Not long after, a trio of girls arrived, a different kind of surprise plastered on their faces.
"We missed him. No way he got here first!" Tione exclaimed as she looked at the stairs
She exhaled as she put her hand on the walls, "Everything's covered in ice! He sure makes going after him harder!… Or is it easier?"
"Didn't we get late because you took a wrong turn?" Her sister mocked as she snickered
"Do you think I have every single floor memorized?! When was even the last time we walked through the Upper Floors to hunt anyway?" Tione said as she brushed aside her sister's cheekiness
"Besides! You ran after me without thinking! If Ais hadn't pointed out we were in the wrong place, we would've kept going until we hit a dead end! And it's Ais we're talking about!"
"That hurts..."
While Tiona laughed awkwardly, Bete couldn't take being ignored any longer, "OI! What the hell just happened? Where's the old man?"
They turned to face him, "He stood behind to take care of the stragglers. Now, if you don't mind, I don't want to lose a race to a Level 1 adventurer." Tione said as she puffed hot air from her nostrils
'He embarrassed me once before, not a second time.'
"What… hey!… Fuck… will one of you two tell me what the hell's going on?" Bete asked as Tione jumped into the stairs
"Meh... Tione wanted to know how capable he was and let him take charge of clearing the monsters."
Bete's forehead tensed, "You left that to a Level 1 small fry? The one that's hauling all of our damn supplies?!"
"We're not here to play babysitters! Leave that to the others following behind us!"
Tiona shrugged, "Tione's been upset for quite some time and wanted to blow some steam. This was probably her trying to prove her seniority over him or something."
"You're free to stop her. I'm not doing that… anyhow, see you later!" She said as she ran down the stairs
"Excuse me, Bete." Ais said as she walked past Bete
As he stood there watching the darkness, Bete couldn't comprehend what was going on.
He clenched his teeth, "Those damn women, causing trouble again…"
'If something happens to that brat, that other woman will not let me hear the end of it… just after I was forced to work my ass off… how many of those supplies were bought with my money?!'
As Bete thought about how much effort he had put in the last few days, he stepped onto the staircase, pulling an ice shard from the wall.
'This must be his magic I heard about. An ice-type enchanting magic… I won't deny it, the magic sounds quite useful, and he doesn't look half bad at using it either.'
/SHATTER!/
Bete shattered the ice shard without much effort, "But it's horrendously fragile."
'I spent the last few days hearing about his abilities, might as well check them out for myself… If everyone is too over their heads for this newbie, or if he holds some level of worth for it all.'
He stepped on the staircase…
/Fwoosh!/
And in the next moment, Bete was gone.
…
/Shua…/
Somewhere on the sixth floor, Silver looked back, "They should catch up soon."
'I never thought I had a chance of playing race with them, and I doubt they're taking this seriously either, but it would be a little disappointing to let things end this easily, right?'
"Let's heat things a little."
/Tremble.../
The air before Silver twisted and turned as it grew fainter, condensing behind his back and pushing him forward!
Before long, he was flying across the caverns twice as fast as before.
Although he flew like a fish in water, his forehead was tense a sweat flew down his face, 'Any faster than this and I might end up crashing face-first somewhere, or worse, against someone.'
Silver raised his spear and punctured a Goblin! Followed by several large lizards prowling on the walls!
'My control over my Plasmids has grown considerably once again. Updating my Status after a few days together with my newest Development Ability has likely increased my combat abilities significantly.'
'This feeling of constant growth sure is marvelous… I'll have to sit down again and see what changes this experiment has brought to me and document it thoroughly.'
/Fwoosh!/
Silver jumped onto the pathway to the seventh floor.
…
"… This is starting to piss me off!" Tione exclaimed as she stomped her foot on the ground, cracking the extremely thin layer of ice lying around
Tiona chuckled, "He's faster than I thought! Here we are on the 10th Floor yet we haven't caught sight of him! I'm starting to think he knows this place better than me.."
Ais sneaked a glance at Tiona, not looking at her for long...
"Don't look at me like that, Ais!"
Clenching her teeth, Tione smacked her fists against the wall, "Am I really going to be outrun by a Level 1 newbie?!"
"Maybe if you stopped running your mouth, you'd catch up to him." Bete said as he approached them from the side
"Says the one left behind!" Tiona pointed out as she looked at him
"I'm not playing around like you all. Someone has to do the work, tche!" Bete said as he walked down to the 11th Floor
His dagger was shoved into the wall, carving a long groove as it did so.
"… I don't know who pisses me off more, the new guy's cocky attitude, or Bete's rudeness."
"Silver's not so bad…"
Tione's eyes opened wide, "Silver? Since when have you started calling him that?"
Ais stepped up, nodding fervently.
"Ehh? It's just his name, what's up with it?" She replied with an awkward expression, "It's not even his first name from what I'm mistake. You two know that!"
Tione put her arms underneath her chest as she pointed out, "You always call him by his nickname."
"I can't keep doing that forever, can I? It's childish and disrespectful." Tiona said with a shrug as she walked past her sister
But she stopped on the edge of the stairs, "On that note, you are the weird one. If Riveria saw how you've been behaving, you know what she'd say."
""…""
Tione and Ais looked at each other, both thinking the same thing…
""Who are you?""
"I'm me!!… I just realized that we might've been looking down on him too much and felt a little bad, that's all."
"Level 1 or not, I think he deserves a little more than just doubts and passing remarks, given the way he's been acting. It's unlike us."
"I never looked down on him." Ais claimed as she grew serious
Tiona smiled widely, "I believe you."
Tione grew serious as she sighed, walking to her sister, "I understand what you're saying, but if you want to get into the entrails of it, then this is a natural thing. Tiona, he's a stranger."
"That's…"
"Perhaps you grew a little fond of him from your time playing around, but its not such a simple thing to trust someone who came from nowhere, even with Loki accepting it."
She closed her eyes as her expression grew softer, "I still don't like it how Finn and Gareth accepted him this close. I honestly can't understand how they took in and gave such an important role to an unknown person."
"That said, I trust their judgment, especially Captains… what do you trust?"
"I…"
"I trust Professor Leon." Ais said suddenly as her expression grew serious
Tione turned to Ais, baffled, "Professor…"
"Leon?" Tiona finished as she scratched the back of her head
"… The Knight of Knights…"
""Ohhhh…""
But that only made Tione's expression twist, "Really? You trust the guy who did that to your face over common sense?"
She looked at Ais face. Her mask had fallen considerably, revealing a large red mark on her right cheek... most of it remained covered, but from what it could be seen, it looked like a hand.
"Erm… it's not like you think…"
Ais grew embarrassed, lacking the words to properly explain herself. Indeed, how does she explain that through the comradeship she built by training (being beaten up) by the Knight of Knights?
How does she explain that such a prominent figure doted on Silver's character and achievements by beating him up on a day-to-day basis?
Only someone of character would be able to withstand whatever she went through, that was what Ais believed... although that could also be from a twisted sense of fellowship.
Ais swallowed her words, understanding how they sounded…
"See Tione? When you have so many people vouching for him, maybe it's because he's a good person. So you can stop stepping on his feet next time. It's enough that we have Bete doing that all the time."
"Fair enough, let's catch up and sort things out, Gareth wouldn't like us leaving him alone for long… and we're keeping this between ourselves, last thing I want is Captain hearing about this little episode."
/Crunch…/
"Erm… excuse me… would you know the way out?"
A group of adventurers, all in their early teens, two women, one young elf and a human, followed by a male Pallum Supporter, approached them from the side.
They looked half-ragged, not hurt, but tired. The Pallum was pale, likely dehydrated or just extremely overworked. But the others weren't faring any better.
They all wore similar uniforms with emblems on their chest. If Silver were there, he'd recognize them all as children from the School District!
"Hm? Are you lost?" Tiona asked as Ais quickly lifted her mask again and looked away
"We were separated from our guide when a monster party arrived. We're all part of the Academy's program…"
"Program?" Tione asked as she turned to Tiona, but she shook her head as well
Only Ais seemed to understand her somewhat, turning to face them, "Do you mean you're trainee at a Familia?"
"Yes!" The elven girl nodded eagerly, "We're in a scholarship with the Set Familia. A few hours ago, although I can't say it for certain anymore… we were separated from our guide, an adventurer from the Familia after… well… we disobeyed orders and rushed alone…"
They all looked down in shame.
"After we were ambushed by a monster party, our guide stood behind, telling us to return to the staircase… but we got lost when we found out our map had been ripped out of our bag." She said as she looked back at their supporter, who couldn't even face them properly
"We've been wandering for a long time…"
Ais tone grew soft, "It's okay, the staircase is right over here." She said as she pointed at the hallway
"Really?! Thank you! We might've walked right past it otherwise!" The elven girl said as she wiped the corner of her eyes in happiness
"The werewolf uncle pointed in this direction and he was right, thank you!"
"Werewolf uncle?… Wait a minute… are you talking about a tall man with gray hair, a mean look, and a tattoo on his left eye? A guy who looks like a delinquent that can snap at any moment?" Tiona asked as her mouth opened in surprise
"Yes? Maybe not that far… Do you know him? Please send him our thanks!"
""...""
Ais and the others looked at other in absolute shock at this revelation.
/Collapse…/
The Pallum collapsed on the ground, too tired to even move…
"We'll stay here and wait… our guide is likely still searching for us. He's a high Level 2 so he should be fine."
She and the human lady bowed, "Thank you!"
"It's nothing… but you should wait inside the staircase. Monsters can still walk around, so…"
"Right! We're still unfamiliar with these rules…"
After bidding farewell and giving some more pieces of advice to the team, the trio continued down the stairs in silence…
"… So that was why Bete was late." Tiona muttered as she user her dual blades to peel a small ice shard from the wall
'It's not melting… should we clean this up?'
Tione looked down, "… To think Bete would do such a thing… Well, he's not a bad person, but…"
""…""
They all seemed to think the same thing…
'It's Bete.'
"Nothing makes sense anymore..." Tione said as she exhaled loudly
Thus continued their dive.
…
/Shua!/
'Where is he?'
Ais dashed across the 12th Floor, running through the fog and caves. She followed the trail of ice as her stained sword flew beside her, splitting the fog.
She cut through monsters and beasts alike, nothing could stand even a blink before her, and that was her barely putting in the effort.
Even then, she felt it was excessive. Had it not been for her hastiness in catching up with the one she was meant to protect, she wouldn't have spent that much force taking down these monsters.
Still, one thing stood at the back of her mind.
'It's not as efficient. Or is it? Another technique, too difficult to replicate.'
She thought about Silver's initial dash and the creatures he left behind. His attacks were precise and deadly, and he never left behind drop items of any sort.
It was clear he had trained to hunt like that... and to some degree, his form reminded her of herself.
She dedicated everything to the hunting of monsters, her technique being considered now the greatest within the Loki Familia.
The combination of her Skills, Magic, Swordsmanship, and Stats were all tailor made for this purpose, yet at the sight of what he left behind, she couldn't help but wonder…
'Was I like this in the past? Is this how Riveria and the others felt whenever I rushed to the Dungeon?' She thought as her expression grew apologetic, lips tightening
'No, I was worse... I'm sorry… I didn't know it was like this.'
She could now understand why Riveria of all people always seemed frustrated upon meeting her. If Ais was already like this going after an adult man, imagine how Riveria felt when looking at her past younger self.
She was indeed quite the brat, running around the Dungeon on a rampage for a self-destructive goal that would most likely consume her before she could ever dream of realizing it...
At eight years old, her child-like self ran throughout the Dungeon on a rampage, ranking up within a year after many grueling encounters and confrontations with those trying to help her… was this situation any different in execution?
Comparing both was a bit much... In the end, it only made her more self conscious of her own troublesome past.
'He's better than I was.' She pointed out as she ran out of a cavern, 'Perhaps even when I became Level 2, was I able to hunt this fast and efficiently?'
'Even now, if I don't shatter the magic stones, I have to collect them… While he can just…'
"A greater hunter than me?"
As her own thoughts slipped outside of her head, a feeling of frustration welled up inside her.
She had felt this before, but never towards someone of a lower level than her…
"!"
As she stepped out of the cavern, Ais finally found what she was looking for. Beneath her, a stretch of stairs led to the ground floor of yet another massive cavern.
Standing at the edge of a considerable fall, Ais could see the entirety of this massive forest complex, albeit all of it was covered by a thick layer of white fog.
Within its changes, she could pick up faint traces of movement underneath it, her strong vision piercing through the gaps, revealing what stood beyond…
There, she saw him. Sliding across the fog, white mist flying around him…
'He's fast… maybe even faster than I was when I Ranked Up for the first time? How high is his Agility?'
In the world of adventurers, even one who had reached the limits of the S Rank with Skills to support it would find themselves pressed to match the speed of a newly ranked Level 2 adventurer… even if his Agility Stat before barely reached above 400.
The thought alone felt unbelievable. It was important to point out that when she ranked up, her Dexterity was just short of 800 and her Agility was beyond it.
And she wasn't talking about her Level 1 self but her newly promoted Level 2 self!
'It's not all the time, only in faint moments does he speed up to incredible speeds... How does he do it? How did he train to get like that?'
She stood there, watching him fly around as questions popped in and out of her mind.
In truth, he had already won his little race with Tione, if that had ever been such.
The entrance to the 13th Floor was in sight, right now, he was probably killing time by facing whatever monsters spawned around. That was what she determined.
So she sat down, holding her knees as she watched him fight, coming in and out of the fog. She couldn't help but feel impressed.
Silver fought with the precision she'd expect of a First Class adventurer, it was a basic necessity if one wanted to go that far after all.
Every such adventurer had their own developed combat styles, and she never thought she'd see something like that from a Level 1 of all people… it only made her that more curious about how he trained before.
'How did he become this strong?'
She was reminded of their first meeting in the Dungeon, right here in fact, on the 12ft Floor.
Amidst the waves of chaos and destruction, she met him amidst flames and hundreds of fallen magic stones…
"Flames? Where did those flames come from?"
Ais was reminded of the chaos that led her to him. When she began thinking about it, she couldn't help but be drawn to that scene again, of him walking out of the vortex of fire.
'Was that his magic? It couldn't be, his three magics are already revealed.'
'Then his Skill? He was uninjured, and there isn't anything in the Upper Floors capable of creating such flames… does he have a Skill that creates fire while magic that creates frost?'
Ais thought of the scene, of a knight fighting amidst ice and fire… and thought of the stories she had heard in the past.
"ROAAAARR!!"
"!"
Her thoughts, however, were shattered by a sudden roar.
From the fog, a massive creature parted the mist open. Its orange skin was highlighted in the white forest, there could only be one such creature…
"An Infant Dragon!"
Ais got to her feet in a heartbeat, already drawing her sword.
A monster of this level was far too much even for the most seasoned of adventurers. Even when she was younger, she only defeated it from the combined effects of her magic and Skill.
Expecting other adventurers to possess the means to solo hunt one before Level 2 was ridiculous, such adventurers did not come by every day, maybe not even one might appear in a year.
And even if they do, such adventurers become legends in the mouths of the public sooner or later.
However… what she saw next surprised her.
Silver turned to the Infant Dragon… and squared up to it. Not even a glimpse of hesitation was seen in his form.
"What is he doing?" She mumbled in half-desperation as her own feet had already long left the stone
High above the forest, Ais stood with her sword drawn, witnessing the continuation of his bravery… or foolhardiness.
"ROAR!"
As the Infant Dragon charged, toppling down everything in its path, tree or boulder, Silver merely took a step forward…
/Shine…/
And his right fist began to sparkle.
The light of an adventurer before danger, the spark of determination and strife.
A light she'd soon look after...
…
.
.
.
Notes
Next chapter, the Middle Floors, dangers, shattered expectations, Rivira and camp interactions! Perhaps even world beyond the 18th Floor!
Silver will probably follow the First String all the way to the Lower Floors, but will stop after that, so expect a hands on expedition all the way there before we take a rest with other matters.
Thanks for reading!
Peace!