CHAPTER 174(The Consultant)

Please read the author's notes. (Examples and explanation of moves and appearance+ Monster Sources)

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pat.treon:/Keanu_Eugene

CHAPTER START---

"What do you think this is about?" Finn asks Riveria.

Standing in the hallway of Hephaestus's residential area on floor fifty in front of a metal door with the Trifecta logo carved into it, the duo were waiting somewhat anxiously for their host.

"Maybe he had a change of heart and wants to help," the Elf suggests. "He is a rather surprisingly kind person."

"Unless you're in his way, so it is possible he's willing to come fight with us," Finn can't help but get a bit hopeful at the idea.

As they both wonder about what exactly is going on the door gently swings inward.

"Good morning, follow me," Yang's tired voice greets them before he turns around to lead them up to floor fifty-one. "Let's make this quick so I can get back to bed, it's like eight in the morning."

"It's almost noon," Finn points out. "But yes good morning."

"It's good to see you in a less hostile environment, Yang," Riveria adds.

"It's good to see you too dungeon mom," Yang teases as they arrive at his door.

Finn and Riveria can't help but look around, red and gold carpeted hallways with silver metal doors. Each door with a symbol carved into it in a respective color, it was obvious what was what even to guests. They didn't miss the enchantments sealing the doors either, nor how they unlocked when Yang touched the metal.

Entering his apartment they follow him into the equivalent of a modern home. Simple Grey, White, and Black with little bits of Blue just like Welf had Red accents and Thalie had Gold.

"Can I get you anything?" he politely asks.

Both guests share a short look and come to a silent agreement, "We'll be fine," Riveria speaks for them. "This is a lovely place, do you realize nobody knows for certain what's on this floor?"

"They think it's a massive training hall for your team, some of the rumors say it's where you do whatever it is you do to level up that fast," Finn adds.

"Hmm, that's the one thing we don't have," Yang responds. "Well, and a pool. It's just three apartments the conference room the forge and the vault."

"A team home," Finn says as they arrive in the living room.

Taking a seat on one of the couches Yang gestures for them to sit opposite him, "for The Trifecta plus Tsubaki and Freya. Eventually Hephaestus too," he says as they take their seat.

"Thank you, and did you say Lady Freya lives here?" Rivera asks with a slight frown at the mention of the woman's name.

"Mhm, when I'm in Orario she lives here with me."

"Her familia must absolutely adore you," she remarks sarcastically.

"Yeah well however they feel isn't my problem, they all know what happens if they try to do something about it, but first they'd have to get past Ottar."

"Why not a castle?" Finn asks. "You've got the money for a massive base after all."

"Not our style," Yang says. "This is close to Hephaestus and the dungeon, not to mention all the stores we need. Plus, I like the view."

"I see," Finn says. "Now then can we get to the exact purpose of you sending for us?"

"Yes, that was rather unexpected," Riveria says.

"Mhm, well." Yang leans back in his seat and gives them a victorious smirk. "After the meeting we had yesterday morning the guild sent me an offer last night. We came to some terms that I found acceptable, now I'm here to consult you on what you're going into, to the best of my knowledge of course."

"They made you a deal?" Rivera was genuinely surprised. "What did they offer you?"

"Don't worry your pretty face about that princess, just know I'm well paid and you might now have a shot at surviving this siege."

"Alright, then let's begin," Finn immediately pulls out a small notepad and a pencil. "What's first?"

"Actually, first I need to know what your plan was, I'd like some insight into how regular people approach fighting these monsters if you don't mind."

"Hmm," Riveria gives him a strange look. "Why is that?"

"Professional curiosity," Yang answers with a soft smile.

"Our plan was simple," Finn begins. "We would set up all our forces on floor thirty-nine. That safe zone would act as a kill box. Even if most of our forces can't get close because of the heat they can still cast spells or use magic swords. We'd have as many magic swords as possible made for Ice Magic and use them all. With almost two hundred adventurers between the three familias all using Ice Magic at once that should at least weaken this monster, right?" he asks, genuinely unsure.

"Good plan," Yang says. "But, slight issues. One, this monster isn't actually weak to ice or water at first. And two, this isn't a standard gold dragon like you've probably been preparing for."

"Right, you've studied these things," Riveria recalls. "I assume your past is classified but I must admit, I never expected you to be a scholar, quite the pleasant surprise," she gives him a warm smile.

"Reading is a favorite hobby and I like animals, studying monsters was just the natural progression. But thank you. Now, about Elder dragons."

"Elder Dragons?" Finn asks, making sure to take note of everything he can.

"Remeber Kirin and Rajang? One was the lightning Unicorn thing, the other was the chimera-like monster that almost put all of you in early graves, those guys?"

"I doubt we'd ever forget them," Riveria says, passing a finger over her gloved left hand. "Were they elder dragons?"

"No, Kirin is. Physically, meaning without controlling lightning, one of the weakest elder dragons. Rajang after eating the horn is about medium-ish. More on the lower side of Elder Dragon power. Elder Dragons are apex predators. Their existence forces the environment to change, including the dungeon. We had to deal with some on the frozen levels and believe me, they made getting to floor seventy impossible until we came back to Orario to take a break," he admits.

"They're that strong?" Finn asks.

"That completely depends on which one it is, I believe the one you're hunting is Kulve Taroth. She's a big one, closer to the higher tiers of Elder Dragons but not really a top dog," Yang says.

"Kulve Taroth?"

"It roughly means 'The Mother Goddess Of Gold'. I'm sure you can figure out why."

"She creates gold," Finn says.

"No, she pulls it," both guests look at with some confusion. "She pulls Gold, Platinum, Opal, other precious things to her to make her coat and her home. She's the queen of El Dorado because of this ability."

"El Dorado is a myth," Riveria points out.

"Not if she gets to the surface. I'm thinking she needs to get out of the dungeon to find a quiet place to dig in and reform her caves of gold around her to sleep. She pulls metal to form the city of gold around her, not the other way around," he informs them.

"How does it attract gold?"

"The horns," Yang says, Finn looks up from his notepad at Yang, his expression begging for more details. "Elder Dragons control their power with their horns, Kirin had a lighting horn. Kulve has massive super-reinforced horns that double as digging tools. Her horns are notoriously hard to break, three layers, all tough. She wears gold like its armor and I'm guessing in the dungeon she'll have some Adamantite and Mythril too," he says.

"Damn, can it fly?" Finn asks.

"Nope, too heavy. The coat of gold is way too heavy, Kulve doesn't have wings she's just physically strong. Like way too strong for monsters her size in comparison because of all the gold she carries around."

"Right," Finn looks down at his notes. "So we have a gold armored Elder Dragon and we need to break the horns, did I miss anything so far?"

"No that's it so far. Next is dealing with the heat."

"That," Riveria grimaces at the memory. "I can't imagine a better way of dealing with that than simply staying far away," she says.

"Welf and I may have come up with a better way, he's working on it right now," Yang raises his metal hand and channels magic into it, immediately the room begins to slowly heat up. "The ambient heat Kulve pushes is like a superheated forge, stand close and you die. We're thinking of a way to stop that but we won't be able to cancel her breath attack," he stops his display and puts down his hand.

While both men continue their meeting Riveria fades in and out, thoughts and eyes straying to the black and gold metal hand across from her.

"You really think you can stop the ambient heat. If you can manage that we'd be able to fight her as normal," Finn says.

"That's the goal, and the guild is paying so we're taking a bit of liberty with the design."

"Naturally, and what about the breath attack?"

"Right, Kulve Taroth bre---" Yang stops talking suddenly. Eyes shift in the direction of the front door as he hears footsteps.

"Hey babe can---" Freya falls silent as she exits the hallways to see Yang sitting with Riveria and Finn. Her tired, baggy eyes linger on Riveria for an uncomfortable amount of time before she saunters over to Yang. "I didn't realize we had guests."

Seeing her tired eyes and thin cheeks he raises an arm for her to lay on the couch and drop her head into his lap, completely uncaring for the audience.

"You look like shit," Yang says.

"Wow, exactly what a woman wants to hear from her man," the looks of surprise on their guest's faces were promptly ignored as she continues. "I feel worse, it only takes a little blood for an update but I had to update so many people last night," she groans. Closing her eyes and guiding his hand onto her belly. "What's with Loki's kids here?"

"The guild made me an offer to consult, so I'm consulting," he says. The couple was completely oblivious to how awkward Riveria and Finn were beginning to feel until Riveria clears her throat to get their attention.

"Right well don't let me distract you, continue the meeting," Freya says as she enjoys the feeling of him tracing circles on her midsection.

"Uh, where was I again?" Yang asks.

"The breath attack," Finn reminds him. At this point, Riveria was hardly focused, her mind naturally deciding to stare at Freya comfortable laying on his lap with that satisfied, almost taunting, and smug look on her flawless face.

"Right, the breath attack. Kulve doesn't actually have fire. It looks like fire but I promise it's not fire, it's worse. She pushes direct heat from her core into the environment, that's what you guys experienced. The breath attack is that but super focused and with a cloud of gold flakes mixed in. Don't get hit, and if you do get hit don't inhale, it'll destroy your lungs," he says.

"That... that's a bit much, right," Finn says in disbelief. "Are all Elder Dragons this scary?"

"Uh, no. Most aren't this scary or big, but a lot of them are..."

"That's unfortunate. Alright so breath attack is covered, now what strategy do you recommend?"

"Hmm, well. You're the main strategist in Orario but these new monsters are kinda my forte so hear me out," Yang begins. "Kulve has two weaknesses, Ice and Lightning---"

"I thought you said Ice doesn't work."

"Let me explain, Lightning works best when she has the metal cloak on. Ice is best when it's off and her main body is exposed. Water is always effective but it's really weak compared to the other two. I recommend you brawl with her, then when she begins glowing red use your magic, repeat that cycle with the appropriate element, and game over. Floor twenty-seven should be perfect, lots of cliffs and ledges for weaker adventurers to have cover and use range attacks plus it's always humid and has a lot of water for the heat."

"In case Welf's invention doesn't work," Finn writes in his notepad for a moment before looking up at Yang, "that's a good plan. At the rate she moves we should have about ten days at the very least to get there and prepare for the siege. Will you be joining us in the fight or only consulting?"

"Only consulting, this is as far as my help reaches, I'm too valuable for the guild to risk losing remember," he says.

"Hmm, that's unfortunate, we could use all the help we can get."

"Well unfortunately this is all the help I can give," Yang says. Finn rises from his seat, after snapping out of her daydream Riveria does the same, "one more thing, if Kulve has Opal and Platinum at the middle of her back, you'll be in for a serious fight, just be careful," Yang says.

"Does that mean something different?"

"Let's just say Elder Dragons have their own version of being an enhanced species. It's called Arch Tempered, you'll know it if you experience it," Yang says.

"Yes yes very ominous and all that," Freya says in a dismissive tone, "now can you boys wait outside please, I need to speak to Riveria about something," she says.

"What?" Yang asks.

Everyone in the room was surprised, none more than Riveria herself. And none were more nervous than her at the idea of speaking to Freya alone.

"Don't be so worried babe, it's just some Elf things. I do have two former Elf kings in my familia remember," Freya says.

Not entirely convinced Yang gives Freya a warning with a harsh glare," alright, we'll wait outside."

With a gesture he signals for Finn to walk ahead of him toward the front door, the Pallum takes this as a sign that the choice was made for both him and Riveria and easily complies.

Leaving Riveria nervously kneading her robes as she stares down at the floor sitting opposite Freya both men step out into the hallway.

"Is she gonna be ok?" Finn asks as the door shuts behind them.

"Which one?"

"Riveria."

"Yeah, she'll be fine. If Freya hurts her I'd be mad so she's fine."

"Mhm," Finn decides to take note of that for later, it seems Yang and Riveria may be closer than he realized. "About this monster, Kulve Taroth..."

"If you have another question just ask Braver," Yang says.

"Right, you gave me the info but never told me how you felt about it."

Yang raises a brow at the weird statement, "what do you mean how I feel? About being left out?"

"About our chances at winning, you never weighed in how you feel."

"Well, you want the truth or the nice versions?"

"What's the nice versions?"

"You've got three level-sevens and twenty other first-class adventurers. On paper effectively the strongest combat force in the world. You should be fine," Yang says with a simple nod.

Finn gives him a curious look, feeling as if the other shoe was about to drop he couldn't help but ask, "and the harsh truth?"

Taking a deep breath, Yang frowns slightly before he speaks, "Kulve is really big and can be really mean. Widespread attacks and a lot of physical power. One slip up and a dozen adventures can die super easy not to mention if you get caught in her heat, My team is uniquely qualified for fighting both Elder Dragons and volcanos and she's basically both, second only to Dire Miralis. I'm not expecting you all to get wiped out even if you lose, I'm sure a few of you will be able to run back to Orario, but I've also got a training program lined up for Lefiya. If she survives and you guys don't I'm recruiting her so honestly kind of a win-win for me."

"Why her?" Finn couldn't help but ask, "she's only level three and still inexperienced in big fights."

"Exactly, she's only level three, that means you guys haven't ruined her Falna beyond repair and I can teach her how to be an effective adventurer still, within a year I could have her at level five or six and way stronger than Riveria, honestly," Yang says. "She can already use all Riveria's spells plus any other Elf spell if the conditions are met, she's the perfect mage to have in any party."

"Exactly why Riveria is training Lefiya to replace her when she returns to the Royal Forest eventually."

"That makes sense honestly."

"But what did you mean by 'an effective adventurer' unlike the rest of my team?"

"I told you at the meeting remember, you've all got either different or no purpose. Why do Tiona or Bete even fight? Tione wants you to put a baby in her so that's why she fights, but the other two are just there because it's all they've ever known. Without a direction and goal growth is just unfocused and diluted, that's one of the many reasons my team can progress so fast," Yang says with a light shrug of his shoulders.

"One of the many reasons?"

"Give me Lefiya and I'll give you another one," Yang jokes.

Chuckling at the absurd suggestion Finn shakes his head, "I suppose I'll have to figure it out on my own. Although I doubt anyone would be able to replicate the results you get. You seem to have a talent for this kind of thing."

"Experience and all that," Yang says. Finn could never have guessed that years of playing video games had uniquely prepared him for understanding Falna as a simple system.

At this point, Yang's apartment door opens and Riveria steps out. Staring down at the floor with wide eyes she only looks up to glance at the faces of both men. Her glance at Finn was hollow, but the moment her eyes held Yang's gaze for all but a second a bright red blush broke out on her face.

She bolts down the hallway to the exit doing her best to not break out into a full sprint.

Sharing a confused look toward each other both men only nod before they part ways. Finn rushes after his vice-captain while Yang goes to have a little talk with his girlfriend.

"Freya, what did you say to Riveria?" Yang asks as he sees the goddesses sitting on the couch exactly where he left her,

"What makes you think anything happened?" she asked, an innocent smile that would trick any other man hung on her lips.

"Let's just call it a gut feeling, now, what happened?"

"No."

"No?"

"I'm not talking about it," she scrunched her face and turned away from him.

"What did you do?"

"Drop it."

"Freya."

"Yang."

"Just tell me, I won't get mad," he says.

"No, and she won't tell you either," Freya turns her head and sticks her tongue out at him.

With a defeated sigh Yang decides not to waste energy on this, "do I need to be worried about her getting hurt or a war with Loki in the future?"

"No, it's nothing like that I promise."

"Alright, you'd better not be lying to me about this..."

"I'm not. Just call up that supporter Hephaestus hired to deliver us some food and let's go to bed," Freya says.

Her suggestion was obviously made to distract him, but between her looking sleep and food-deprived, and him not getting much sleep that night, it was too tempting to resist.

"You know we can't keep him on call forever right, we set that up because of the house arrest but that's done now," Yang says as he begins walking toward the door.

"Having food delivered is amazing we have to keep him!" Freya whines at his back as he walks away.

"Sigh, when you're right you're right I guess..."

END CHAPTER---

Did Yang make a deal with the guild? Freya and Riveria finally spoke?