Quest 9

After a while of sitting in the dark, Fels found him.

Listening to many adventures with their familiar she/he was able to find him next to a pool of vomit with puffy eyes from his crying. They touched him to find he was asleep.

"Oh..." They pick him gently. They touch his forehead to find he is fine. "Cirrus." They hold him tightly.

Fels then quickly left. They picked him up and carried him back home, leaving behind his spear.

They brought him back home.

"So how's the kid doing Fels-sama?" Lenoa said.

"… He is fine. He used a lot of magic and he's exhausted, so a good night's rest will do well for him."

"What do you think happened to him? He's tougher than a majority of adventures in this city?"

"I do not know, but I will look into it. When he wakes, tell him to meet with his god."

"Will do."

Fels leaves the room and disappears into the darkness.

Lenoa gets a chair and sits next to Cirrus. She touches his forehead and finds it a bit warm.

"… stupid kid… you should have been more careful…"

The next day at noon, Cirrus opened his eyes.

"..."

He sits up and finds himself back in his room.

'… was it Fels?…. its most likely them.'

He sees his bag in the corner and that he has a new set of clean clothes.

"…Fuck."

He gets up and puts his shoes back on, but finds them to be wrecked. The bottom of the shoes was all worn down and he can stick his feet through the bottom.

"…. shit."

He finds a pair of slippers and puts them on. He heads down when he heard a familiar voice.

"So you up, huh, sleepyhead?"

"Yeah…"

As he moves the curtain and sees Lenoa, he sees that she's angry.

"So… anything to tell me?"

"Um… yes… um, can I tell you at dinner? I, um… have to sort things out?"

"… Sure, but if you don't, I will make you tell me."

"I know you will."

"Good, Fels told me to tell you to go meet your god."

Lenoa then resumed reading her magic book.

"Alright."

Cirrus goes into the kitchen and gets a fresh drink of water and some bread; he then left through the back and made his way through the dark alleys and opened up another secret passage.

After a while, Cirrus finds himself in Ouranos's Room of Prayer.

"Hello Lord Ouranos."

"Cirrus, Fels has informed me of where they found you. Do you wish to inform me of what transpired?"

"… Yes." Cirrus sits down, crossing his legs. "I was exploring the 12th floor and improving my skills with the sword and spear. When I was resting by the stairway to the 11th floor, I heard some swords clashing and soon a Monster Parade came about. Several adventures quickly left the floor but I… I decided to make this my grand feat."

"And that resulted in you passing out in the secret passage?"

"No… that came from what happened after I cleared the parade. After I was done, I rested by a tree, recovering my magic with a potion. When another person came, I quickly hid, but then he yelled out if I was Finn."

"!!" Ouranos's eyes slightly widened. "Evilus…"

"That is what I thought as well, as I waited, he got angrier and started to smash a tree in anger and so I… used my magic and fought him, with my speed he had assumed I was a level 2 and that he could easily crush me, but I was still faster. He wasn't able to get any hits in because of my frame, but he was able to break my sword."

"Did you get a name?"

"Yes, his name was Briareus, and his title was Hundred Strength. He was a child of Alecto."

"We will find him and his goddess as quickly as — "

"You will find Briareus on the 12th floor."

"… Cirrus did you — "

"Lord Ouranos… before I even fought him… I made a resolve, a resolve just like when I first explored the 1st floor and killed my first monster… it was a hard thing for me but in the end, it was a monster that wanted to kill me when I could have easily left, and the monster would do no real harm. In this case… I also could have left but… then I would leave a monster that will go on to do more Pass Parades and kill more, even before I stepped in the death of some adventures was already on his hands and possibly even more."

Cirrus holds out his hands to show the shaking.

"I said when you granted me your Falna that the time ahead will be turbulent… and seeing as Evilus is growing in power the longer they remain active I… threw my chip in to fight against them, losing one's innocence is a… small price to pay." Cirrus's voice cracked a bit, saying those last words.

"… Then we must work to make sure no other children lose theirs," Ouranos said in a booming voice. "Come, let us update your status."

Cirrus takes out a piece of paper and hands it to Ouranos as he shows his back to him, and he updates his status. Ouranos bites his index finger and drops it on Cirrus's back, updating his status.

"…. You have vastly approved… you may also level up."

"What's the rank?"

Ouranos told him the ranks of his abilities.

Cirrus Zephyr

Lv. 1

Strength: SSS1130→ X1201 Endurance: SS1080→ XX1305

Dexterity: X1205→ XXX1470 Agility: X1240→ Y1500

Magic: SS1010→ X1265

"That much huh… maybe I could have gone further but… for now, that will be enough."

"Hm, you have Immunity, Hunter, and Mage. You may take your time in- "

"I choose mage."

"Are you sure Hunter can only be gained at level 2, and it will help you greatly in the dungeon?"

"I know, but… what saved me was my magic, so I wish to improve and make it more efficient."

"… So be it."

A few seconds pass and he puts the paper on Cirrus's back and hands it to him.

"You gained a new skill, Cirrus."

Cirrus reads the paper and is surprised by the skill.

Cirrus Zephyr

Lv. 2

Strength: I0 Endurance: I0

Dexterity: I0 Agility: I0

Magic: I0 Mage: I

[Dia Chrysomallos]

Super Short Chant.

Enchant Type.

[Anthos Adonis]

Increases speed of Growth.

When on the border of Life and Death, all parameters will drastically increase.

[Leo Nemeaeus]

Increases user's Stamina and Strength. (Passive)

Grants the user the development abilities Strong Body, Strong Defense. The strength of the effect is proportional to the user's level. (Only activated when using [Dia Chrysomallos].)

"… Well, what a useful skill…"

"Seems you wanted a stronger body."

'And heart.' Thought Cirrus.

"… Well, I'm sure this will come in handy... I'll be going back home, Lord Ouranos," Cirrus said, putting his shirt down and burning the paper.

"I will inform Fels when they return."

"Thank you."

Cirrus leaves through a secret passage.

"… Fels, you can come out."

From the darkness, Fels emerged.

"… The Guild has received word that they found Briareus on the 12th floor, Lydia of the Hermes Familia found him and spotted a Pallum with a deer mask that has golden antlers… what do we do?"

"…Get Hermes to meet me."

"Do you wish to ally yourself with Lord Hermes, my lord? He has only served Zeus and only him for — "

"I know, but for this city, I am sure he is more than willing to lend his aid both in the shadows and in the light… and since Cirrus has leveled up, he should get a title."

"As you wish, Lord Ouranos."

As Fels leaves, Ouranos thinks to himself.

'Cirrus… I'm sorry you are forced to grow up so quickly… I'm sorry you must kill your fellow man.'

A solemn expression fell on his face that no one but the darkness and torchlight would see.

Still the modern man that was reincarnated has slowly began to die and they slowly and eventually will no longer see themselves as a foreigner in this world but one of it's people.

After returning home, he starts work on dinner.

Cirrus told Lenoa what happened and even his level up. She made an expression Cirrus didn't think was possible, aside from her usual calm and smug grin. She didn't pry any further and simply congratulated him on his level up.

That day, Cirrus had a hard night falling asleep.