Chapter 9: Danger

"Whew. . . I guess that this should be good enough for now." I say as I look around at the dead monsters around me. I feel like I can level up based of of stats alone but I still need an achievement to do so. Furthermore, I want to max out my stats before doing that as well.

Even though I want to keep going, I think I should head back now. It's been more than the two weeks that I originally wanted to spend here. The only reason I know that is due to Hephaestus telling me since time is so hard to keep track of around here. I shake my head and pick up all the magic stones before making my way to leave the ninth floor and head up to the surface.

As I'm walking I hear a commotion behind me. The sounds of rumbling are slowly getting louder and louder. I pause and look back while wondering what it could be only to break off into a full sprint once I see what it is. Or rather, what they are. Two very large orange salamanders.

Why are there two Infant Dragons on the ninth floor!? They're only supposed to start appearing on the eleventh floor so why!? This is just like the Killer Ants only this time, I've been on this floor for a while and haven't seen anyone so I know they can't have been led up by someone else.

I try my best to think while running for my life about what could be happening only to remember something important. The gods are forbidden from entering the dungeon, not because they can't, but because the dungeon will try it's hardest to kill them for whatever reason.

I may not be a god but I am still a Demi-God. I don't see any Juggernauts or Black Variants but maybe that's because I'm still half mortal unlike the Gods. The dungeon knows it does not need to spend as much effort to kill me so it only sends monsters from a few floors up. However, it seems like every time I survive, it will get harder to next time.

One Infant Dragon is already far harder that any amount of Killer Ants, let alone two! Damn, I should have kept my divinity in mind before coming down here but there's nothing that can be done now. My stats haven't leveled up so the two Infant Dragons are slowly catching up to me despite me running as fast as I can.

It looks like my only hope is to fight but I definitely can't use Gideon. That would require me getting close to them to hit them which would only put my life in more danger. I guess Flame Whip it is. On top of that, I'm going to have to improvise with {Divine Flame} some more to kill these two.

Making my decision, I come to a stop and and turn around. I light my hand with {Divine Flame} and swing it in front of me letting off a sweep of golden flames that fly from my hand to the ground, creating a wall of golden flames between me and the two Infant Dragons.

The both of them come to a stop in front of the wall of flames and growl at me from behind it. I smile as I conjure the whip in my hands and lash out with it towards the Infant Dragon on the right. I manage to successfully draw a bit of blood, showing just how powerful the {Divine Flame} whip is.

The Infant Dragon roars loudly in pain as the remnant flames burn at the cut made by the whip. The one on the left seems to still be somewhat calm but the one I hit is furious. I attack it a few more times but that only makes it madder. In its rage, it rushes through the flames, catching fire. Slowly, the smell of burnt flesh rises within the tunnel.

Even though it is burning alive, the Infant Dragon chooses to ignore its pain and suffering to charge at me in anger. Even though, it moves faster than me in a straight line, it turns far more slowly than I do so I get an Idea. I swing my whip and let it wrap around its neck and proceed to run past it, dodging it's head as it bites out at me. I go around it and then keep doing so, avoiding its attacks as best as I can while doing so.

Once I've gone around it a few times, I jump on its back and look at its neck where my whip has wrapped around it several times and is burning its flesh away. My tiredness and injuries from running around it and the few times it managed to hit me, are recovering slowly from the flames still engulfing the Infant Dragon. The fact that it's still alive is amazing but now it's time for it to die.

I grip my whip tightly and start pulling as hard as I can, causing it to tighten around its neck. It takes all of my strength but due to the burning of the whip I eventually succeed and the whip cuts through it's neck, partially decapitating it due to not being able to go through the spine. Even so, the Infant dragon is dead and slowly fades away leaving behind Its magic stone.

Normally I would celebrate but there is still another Infant Dragon behind the wall of flames. I put the magic stone in my {Dimensional Storage} and pull out a few mind potions and drink them to recover back to full mind. My head hurts from drinking so many of them but I want to finish off this next Infant Dragon as quickly as possible. I may have recovered a bit due to the flames but I'm still very tired. I wont be able to do what I just did again.

I grit my teeth and bring my hands together and start condensing {Divine Flame} while keeping an eye on the Infant Dragon in case it decides to rush through the flames like the other one. Thankfully, it seems to be wary of doing so after seeing how the other Infant Dragon died.

Now it's time to get started on the second official weapon of my personal weapon series, The Seven Sins Series. First was the Hammer of Envy, Gideon. My main weapon and the one I'll be using the most, but now it's time to make the Bow of Lust, Herritt. Instead of two bows like the original Herritt, I only make one.

I can't use it like Gowther can but what I can do is overcharge it with mind and {Divine Flame} to make it a heavy hitter. I feel {Divine Blacksmith} activate and soon a bow of golden flames appears. I feel a connection to it, unlike the whip which feels like a magic and has no weight to it, this feels like a genuine solid bow.

I hold the bow up with my left hand and grab the string with my right. As I pull back on the string with all my force, an arrow of golden flames starts condensing and appears in the bow. I hold it drawn for a while, letting more power enter and as I feel my mind start getting very low, I let go and the arrow goes flying towards the Infant Dragons head.

Upon contact, it explodes with force and instantly kills the Infant Dragon. I let out a sigh of relief as I fall onto my back. Instead of disappearing like the whip does, Herritt gets absorbed into me and I can still feel it and call upon it whenever I need to. As I lay there I think about what just happened and start laughing. I just killed two Infant Dragons at level one with low stats. If I'm not maxed out when I get back after almost four weeks of hunting and this, I'm going to be pissed.

Shaking my head, I slowly and tiredly get up and make the wall of flames disappear. I head over to the magic stone and am about to pick it up when Herritt suddenly appears. The Infant Dragons magic stone slowly loses its luster as its power is absorbed by Herritt. After it's done, Herritt seems to be shining just a little more brightly and the flames are dancing happily as if it just had a good meal.

So like Gideon, Herritt can also be upgraded still. Only since it's not a completely physical weapon, its way of improving is different. Looks like I'll have to think of a way to successfully make Gideon stronger so it doesn't get left behind. I chuckle as I recall Herritt and pick up the drained magic stone before putting it in {Dimensional Storage}. I can give it the other magic stones but I want to get out of here first. As I'm walking, I send out a thought to Hephaestus.

'Hey Phae-Phae.'

'What is it Heine? This is the first time you've taken the initiative to contact me.' she replies and I can hear the pout.

'I'm sorry but I'm on my way back now. I'll be there soon.' I say and I feel a burst of happiness flow through me. That's new. . .

'Good, I look forward to seeing you soon.' she says and I can't help but shake my head with a small laugh.

'No. . . you're going to be pretty mad when I get there.' I say and she goes silent for a while.

'. . . What did you do!?' I hear her ask worriedly.

'You'll know soon, love you!' I say and then ignore her yelling as I make my way to the surface, thankfully without interruption this time.

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"Your armor doesn't seem as bad as last time but you look far more tired. Are you okay?" Hephaestus asks me as soon as I enter her office.

"Don't worry, I'm fine. Like you said I'm just tired. Before I tell you what happened though. I want to get my status updated if it's alright with you." I say and I see her stare at me for a bit before nodding her head slightly.

"Okay, but afterwards you are telling me everything that happened." she says and I nod with a small smile before giving her a peck on her lips making her face go red. I see her smile a little as I take my armor and shirt off before laying down on the couch face down. She straddles my hips and gets to work on updating my status. After waiting for a while without hearing anything from her I'm about to speak when I feel something soft press against by back.

"You almost died didn't you?" she asks with a small voice as she hugs me from behind. I take a moment to enjoy the feeling of her pressed up against me before answering.

"Yeah. . . but I didn't go past the ninth floor. It seems that the dungeon doesn't like me like it doesn't like Gods, albeit to a smaller degree. That's why there were Killer Ants on the fifth floor last time." I say and I can feel her tense up.

"You're never going back into the dungeon." she says and I can't help but protest.

"Yes I will! Listen Phae, I have to get stronger to protect myself from those who want me like Freya." I say and instantly regret it.

"How do you know Freya wants you?" she asks and I have to pause at her question for a bit.

"When we went to the Hostess of Fertility, she was there. I saw her as we were leaving, looking at me with a look of lust and wanting." I say and I can practically feel the rage coming off of her.

"I knew that bitch was lying!" she yells as she holds me tighter. I sigh and get up with her on me before pulling her off me and laying her down on her back on the couch with me on top this time.

"Like I said before, I'm not going anywhere. I'm yours my goddess." I say and she stares into my eyes for a while before bringing my head to hers and kissing me.

Unlike before, there's a heat there that grows as we remain in contact. I prod at her lips with my tongue and soon she opens them and meets it with her own. As we kiss passionately, I feel her arms go around my neck and her legs wrap around my waist. We spend a few minutes enjoying the taste of each other when the door to the office opens up.

"Hey! I heard that Heine was. . . back. . ." Tsubaki says as she enters the office. Hephaestus immediately tries to push me off but I don't let her. I want to hold her for a bit longer.

"As you can see Tsubaki, we're a bit busy at the moment." I say and Hephaestus who now realizes I won't be getting off of her buries her face in my chest to hide her embarrassment.

"Yeah I can definitely see that. It's pretty hot to be honest, You mind if I join in?" she says with a grin and I can feel Hephaestus growl into my chest.

"Get out now Tsubaki!" she yells as she pulls back to glare at Tsubaki.

"Hahahaha, alright Lady Hephaestus, I'll leave now. You enjoy tongue battling your little lover-boy now." she says as she runs out of the office with another laugh. I chuckle before looking down at Hephaestus who looks back at me.

"Are you going to get off of me now?" she asks and I shake my head.

"It's been a month since we met, and most of it I spent in the dungeon. I missed you Phae-Phae. So now that I finally got to taste you, I'm gonna keep doing so for a while." I say and her face goes red. She gives me a small smile and looks directly into my eyes.

"Then. . . what are you waiting for? Come kiss your goddess." She says and I happily oblige.

We spend hours enjoying each other while my status sheet lays on the floor forgotten.

[Name] - Heine

[Age] - 15

[Race] - Demi-God

[Level] - 1+

[Strength] - F309 -> EX1500

[Endurance] - F374 -> EX1500

[Dexterity] - G213 -> EX1500

[Agility] - G244 -> EX1500

[Magic] - E459 -> EX1500

[Skills] - {Hammer of Hephaestus} - {Forge Library} - {Dimensional Storage} - {Armament Master} - {Demi-God}

[Magic] - {Divine Flame}(Divine Flame Whip, Divine Flame Wall)

[Development Abilities] - {Divine Blacksmith}