Orientation

Twilight Manor, First Floor

"First things first, let's get you introduced to Twilight Manor. It's pretty big and easy to get lost in," Noir kindly said.

It was the day after being inducted into the Loki Familia. After being accepted and given their respective Falna, the two were given their own rooms in the upper floors, then told to rest for the day.

Bete and Ais went their separate ways, him going to explore the courtyard and training grounds while Ais apparently went to talk with Riveria-tan, no, Riveria.

For dinner, the two voraciously devoured a good portion of the Loki Familia's food storage at the banquet hall, freezing everyone who stared at them in fear and awe. It was inconceivable how two little children not even older than 10 years could fit that much food in their bellies.

"H-how in the world?!"

"Not my croquettes!"

"Not my Transforming Furikake Gohan!"

"Demons! Demons!" one member shrieked, furiously tracing a cross on his chest.

Yes... the two made quite the impression on the other Loki Familia members just on their first day.

All in all, not much else happened. Bete hit a few more training dummies, ran around the courtyard, then shared the remaining Jagamarukun with Ais, to her greatest delight. Honestly, the sheer difference between Ais with and without Jagamarukun scared him.

If there was one additional bright side, it was the beds. He instantly threw away any regrets he was holding onto about joining the Familia when the Werewolf laid his head on the unbelievably soft, feather pillow.

'I must agree. Humans certainly know how to make the best bed furniture. Probably because they mate even more often than Hume Bunnies.'

Indeed, the pliable, cool surface eased his head to sleep, letting him knock out within seconds. It definitely beat sleeping on the rocky, barely covered ground or a barrel in the middle of an alley.

'I'm sorry... I betrayed you, my barrel.'

Back to present day, Bete yawned and stretched his arms, meeting Ais, Noir, and one more person in the main room of Twilight Manor.

"Hello," a vibrant emerald-haired Elf softly spoke. "I hope the rooms were to your liking."

The gracious words befit her status as a royal High Elf.

"Finn was busy today with his duties so he left me and Riveria to properly introduce you two to our Familia," Noir explained.

"And we can go from here." Riveria said, gesturing around them. "This chamber acts as the main living quarters of Twilight Manor. The majority of our members will lounge about here in their free time. There's comfortable furniture, snacks, beverages, as well as a bulletin board with announcements. This is also the center of Twilight Manor, so you can come here if you ever get lost."

The four of them started walking, Ais trailing behind Riveria closely.

'Hm. Whatever they talked about yesterday must have brought them closer,' Bete noted.

They passed a few rooms that Noir noted on the way.

"That one over there leads to the kitchen. Those over there lead to our storage rooms where we put our supplies and spare weapons. We have some monster loot in there as well. And you know that one by the end of the hallway since you visited the training grounds yesterday."

The older man gestured towards another section of the wide halls.

"Those stairs lead to the living quarters for most of us. Again, that's something you two probably know since you slept there yesterday. Toilets are here and there, a few outside as well."

Bete nodded along, managing to keep the good portion of the information retained in his head.

On the contrary, Ais's small blonde head was spinning in confusion, overwhelmed by the overload of information.

Riveria, who noticed, tenderly stroked the back of her head.

"It's okay if you don't remember some things. You'll find your way eventually. You're here with us for the long run."

". . . Yes," Ais quietly replied, her brilliant eyes showing less panic.

'Damn, Loki was right. Truly Mama-san indeed..'

The next part they visited was connected to the main hallways with all the bedrooms by a large staircase.

"This part leads to the tallest tower in Twilight Manor, reserved for the Executives such as Riveria-dono here and Loki-sama. People usually only come here to update their Status. Speaking of updating your Status, Loki-sama updates the Status of around 5 or so Familia members every few days a week. Around double that number when a lot of us come back from a large-scale expedition. Basically, don't worry about the Familia being so big that you'll never get to update your Status. Loki-sama gets to everyone eventually. She's pretty good about that."

They continued past the staircase leading upwards, going up to another floor.

"Apart from the towers, the entire manor can be divided into around 4 floors. The storage room's slightly below the 1st floor but we consider them to be one and the same. We're currently on the the 2nd floor where the majority 

The swordsman pointed towards two grand doors that were decorated with all kinds of fancy architectural marvels. He could feel warmth and smell the hot moisture seeping through the gaps.

"These are the community bathrooms. There's one for the guys and one for the girls, right and left respectively. Remember to shower and clean before soaking in the baths."

The small group then walked back to the living quarters where they were allowed to take a small break.

A few minutes later, Ais and Bete were collapsed on the couch, munching on some warm cookies and drinking apple cider from the Idun Familia.

"Well? What do you think?" Noir asked.

"Ugh... there's a lot more than I expected. I knew it was large based on the exterior, but Twilight Manor is humongous."

"Nn. So big."

He chuckled at their response.

"Soon, you'll feel right at home."

"There's just one more important place you two should probably be aware of. After you finish eating, let's go."

.

.

.

"And here we are," Noir announced, climbing up the last stair to reveal a thick wooden door that led to a bigger room. Inside, Bete could hear a large group of people discussing. By the sides, there were two armored guards who nodded in respect towards Riveria and Noir.

"This is the strategy office. The Executives usually gather around here frequently to talk strategy, recruitment, important news, etcetera. Finn-dono is in there right now, discussing plans for our next expedition."

"You keep talking about expeditions. What are they, exactly?" Bete asked.

"Ah, of course. My apologies if I confused you with the terminology. You see, most of the top Familias such as the Astraea, Ganesha, or Freya Familia use similar terminology and diction."

"I can take it from here, Dain. You've explained a lot already," Riveria started to speak. "I'll talk on the way back, but go somewhere else. I wanted to show you where this room was, but we shouldn't bother them. Finn will greet you guys later."

After the short excursion, the four of them started walking once again, led by the green-haired Elf.

"What I want you two to understand is that the main thing we focus on here at the Loki Familia is 'teamwork.'"

Ais tilted her head, not recognizing the foreign word.

"It means acting in a group. Power in numbers. We don't risk unnecessary deaths in our Familia. Why have one fool rush off on their own and potentially get themselves killed when we can have many watching over each other's backs? It was this kind of thinking that carried our Familia and reputation to the position they are in now. If you plan to remain here, I urge that you take my words to heart."

Her verdant eyes glimmered in warning, but continued.

"Generally, to continuously work on our teamwork, everyone participates in a mandatory group explorations once a week with at least 5 Familia members, unless a someone has a good reason to skip. Most of our members already do this anyways, so it's not much of a problem."

"Every week?"

The graceful elven beauty nodded.

"And occasionally, about every few weeks, though the exact timing can vary, almost every Loki Familia Adventurer goes on an expedition. This is what we've been referring to by an 'expedition.' Large scale expeditions are no joke, and can be both rewarding and dangerous. They also vary in scale as well as the length. Occasionally, it's just a practice run in the Upper Floors while other times, it's a multi-Familia cooperative expedition diving deep into the Lower Floors or even unexplored areas in the Deep Floors. For the latter, we typically only bring our most exceptional High Class Adventurers since the dangers the Deep Floors possess is no joke. Level 3 at the minimum. The time also correlates to the difficulty. Our expeditions can range from a few days to the good majority of a month, and sometimes even longer. Ah, also remember that this terminology is used mostly by us and other top Familia so don't confuse other people you meet."

"This... sounds like a lot of stuff we have to do. We get our own free time, right?"

Riveria nodded once more in affirmation.

"Don't think it's useless. Even for us High Class Adventurers, these explorations help us build our teamwork and micromanagement skills. It's basically fine tuning and leadership-development. For Low Class Adventurers and Third Class Adventurers, it's an important event that both gives plenty of dungeon experience as well as valuable excelia."

"But-"

"AND! If you're still worried about team explorations or expeditions taking too much time, don't. We allow our members to do their own things for the rest of the week. Like other Familia, many of us form small parties of similar levels, sometimes even with people from other friendly Familia. Going in the dungeon in groups surpassing 5 members will become so commonplace that you won't even notice the mandatory explorations. You do know about how most dungeon parties function, yes?"

Ais scratched her head while Bete squinted and tried to scrounge up his memories of the conversation with Airmid.

"Ugh... something about... supplementals and banks?"

The pointy-eared Elf palmed her face.

"Supporters and tanks," she corrected.

"They are two of the average dungeon party positions, though most lack a tank or have someone that functions as both a damage dealer and a tank. The main positions in a dungeon party are damage dealers, tanks, supporters, scouts, and healers. The damage dealer position is quite a broad term and can be subdivided even further such as swordsmen, mages, spearmen, and others. You get the idea. Tanks play the role of taking the brunt of the damage. I'll let you know, people who purely play this position are rare in the Upper Floors since there isn't exactly much of a need nor the profit. Meanwhile, supporters and scouts, due to their lack of fighting ability, play an under-appreciated role that many new Adventurers fail to realize. They're also usually of the smaller body type for the same reasons. Pallums, Half-Pallums, smaller or younger humans, the like. Of course, Finn is unique for his race. On a basic level, supporters pick up loot and magic stones for the rest of the party while acting as a porter of sorts. Scouts can scan the terrain and provide assistance for directions and battle plans — something that will become essential in the Middle and Lower Floors. Supporters and scouts are also generally one and the same since playing both roles is beneficial for being picked up by a party. A good supporter can additionally act as a scout and even a minor damage dealer."

"Aren't they just useless extras, then?" Bete rudely asked, scowling. "Sounds to me like people who recklessly go in the dungeon and get themselves stupidly killed not knowing the danger."

Riveria whipped around towards him, emerald eyes flashing with annoyance.

"Your kind of thinking is responsible for how supporters are currently treated. Supporters do 'support' the other Adventurers, yes, but-"

"So I was right! All they do is leech off the real Adventurers and-"

"BUT! And may I add, please don't interrupt me again, Bete."

The dark green fire in her eyes suggested that was not merely a warning but a threat.

"Supporters are not just useless tag-alongs. They save time, money, and can even save your own life. Do you know the benefits that a good supporter can bring? Stop thinking with that thick head of yours that only thinks about fighting."

Conck!

"Gah!"

Almost to emphasize her point, she rapped his forehead with her knuckles.

"Furthermore, new Familia members typically act as supporters. In fact, you two will act as supporters for us on your first few expeditions. Gareth, Finn, and I were also once supporters for a great Familia. And look at where we are now. Don't look down on them."

'She's right, kid. I'll tell you now, it'll do you well in the long run to curb this kind of thinking. I know you have some deep trauma shit going on up there, but don't take it out on innocents. You're only hinder your own growth.'

Bete ground his sharp canines, his tail twitching anxiously.

"I'll..."

Riveria raised a green brow.

"Think about it..." he managed to scrape out.

She lightly smiled appreciatively.

"That's all I can ask for. Now you, Aiz..."

"..."

The blonde was staring through a window with an empty look. It was evident she had absolutely no thoughts about what they were discussing in that air-filled noggin of hers.

'Jagamarukun... I wonder if they added any new flavors.'

Riveria sighed, but continued.

"Lastly, healers. You can probably tell from the name, but they maintain the health of the party. Pure healers are rare, even rarer than pure tanks. I believe the Dian Cecht Familia has a few of them, though they don't typically enter the dungeon unless it's a large-scale expedition partnered with other top-tier Familia. I heard the Freya Familia also obtained a talented healer. Heith Velvet, I believe her name was."

'And Airmid,' Bete thought to himself.

"For new recruits," Riveria said, moving on to a part that was more associated to the two, "you need to focus more on the basics rather than worrying about gathering excelia and leveling up. Dungeon knowledge, weapon mastery, analyzing your own strengths and skills and such."

Ais frowned, awakened from her stupor by the Elf's words, and visibly not in agreement with that statement.

"Why? Don't we get much stronger faster if we kill monsters?"

The High Elf smiled gently, proceeding to explain herself.

"It's a mistake many rookies or lower-tier Familia make that hurts them in the long run. While it's true that rapidly gaining excelia will do wonders for your immediate strength, sprinting to the top will only create pitfalls around you. The dungeon is much more complicated and dangerous than you think. Even veterans are caught off-guard at times."

Noir nodded in agreement. "Indeed, I can attest to that."

'I think I have to agree with Riveria here. As much as I want to get in the dungeon as fast as possible, information is key. Speaking from experience, nothing is more dangerous than an unknown opponent,' Bete reasoned.

"Building a solid foundation first will bring many benefits. It's the Loki Familia way — especially for you children. Okay?"

The blonde waited a few seconds, her lips still pouting. She evidently had a few complaints left, but left them unsaid, sighing and bobbing her head instead.

'Honestly... those two are so alike in the strangest ways,' Riveria thought to herself with an amused twinkle in her eyes.

"At the very least, two weeks before you first go into the dungeon."

Both Ais and Bete deeply curled their lips at that.

"Though... I suppose it could be earlier if you prove yourselves."

Similarly, they simultaneously perked up after hearing a way out.

It honestly reminded her of shining a light beam at a cat and watching them pounce everywhere.

'No, I shouldn't look at them like pets...'

Noir started to talk in Riveria's place after her lengthy explanation.

"Okay, I believe that should be most of Twilight Manor. However, there's still a lot of other rooms that probably aren't important for you two to know at the moment. As Riveria-dono said, you'll get to know them all eventually. Experience is the best master."

Before they knew it, their group had reached their next destination.

'Eh? We're outside? Wait, this place looks familiar. The training grounds?'

"Now," Noir smirked. "It's been a lot of yapping. How about we test your new Falna?"

Ais and Bete looked at each other, then mirrored the swordsman's smirk, confidently nodding.

He was glad the veteran had noticed their restlessness before they did something rash.