Couldn’t Hold Back

The next morning, Yoruichi and Kuroka left for the Dizara Region where many maritime nations were located. It was also one of the places within the continent where monsters ran rampant and several strong Familias were active. They wanted to investigate where these monsters were coming from, or if there was another entrance to the Dungeon on that side.

After bidding them farewell with a promise of frequent contact, those who were going to the Dungeon went on their way, while Kisuke returned to the underground hideout to prepare the things he would need in the future.

After his recent travels, he figured that they should have a proper and safe way to transverse the void. Since Great Red's brute-forcing wasn't really a good example, Kisuke would have to test a few things.

In addition, he needed to plan ahead on how he would deal with the mysterious man in the void who seemed to overlook this world, 'Gonna have to find a way to evade his detection.'

Claire and Ophis, on the other hand, were left to Hestia and Artemis' care. The two Goddesses would bring them around the city to let them get used to the scenery. Kisuke specifically told them that they can't lose sight of Ophis, as she could easily get lost in her thoughts and wander around aimlessly.

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.

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Sona, Serafall, Aika, Koneko, Akeno and Irina first went to the Guild's main building, Pantheon to register the newcomers. There, they met Sophie, the elf receptionist and their advisor, for the first time after a long while.

After coming face to face, Sophie was making a dark expression and immediately brought them to a private booth. With everyone sitting, Sophie started with a dark tone, "...Why did you only show up just now?"

Smiling wryly, Sona explained, "It's only now that we were able to have some free time."

"Then why didn't you send a message to the Guild about your recovery?"

Sona's smile froze before she answered in a flustered way, "W-well... We forgot..."

*Bam*

While slamming the table, Sophie raised her voice, "You forgot!? You forgot to at least inform your Dungeon Advisor!? Then what's the point of me worrying about you guys!? When you came back to the surface, I heard that you three slipped into a coma due to the injuries you received and had to be taken straight to the Guild's Infirmary for immediate treatment, only to be taken back by your goddamn captain who doesn't know how to inform others about his plans!"

"And while I was worrying about your condition for a good while, I heard from someone that you're going around the market while having some fun! Neither the Guild nor I was informed about your recovery! Though it's great news that you're fine now, but still...!"

Although genuinely happy for their recovery, as Adventurers that she had been taking care of for a while now, she felt betrayed when Sona told her that they simply forgot to inform her. Back then, she already assumed the worst case and that they'd be retiring due to the injuries they received.

Sona, Aika and Koneko were crushed by their guilt. True enough, it had been Sophie who had been taking care of them whenever they dived into the Dungeon. Her reminders and warnings were immensely helpful.

Not just that, it was also because of Sophie that they were able to have an easier time in Orario by obtaining information regarding various establishments where they could get supplies. Since they didn't want to rely on Kisuke's inventions and concoctions as much as possible, they were trying their best to go through what normal Adventurers experienced in their everyday life.

With a resigned expression, Sona showed her guilt and tried to explain their circumstances while apologizing, "I'm sorry. It's our fault. Though if I were to give a reason, we were very busy with some stuff. And to unnecessarily add to that, several Familias were trying to recruit us. The Apollo Familia have been especially committed to this, to the point that it's already borderline harassment."

Hearing this, Sophie sighed and replied, "Haah, what's done is done. As long as you don't forget me next time... No, there shouldn't be a next time in the first place."

But Sona just shook her head, "You know we can't promise that. With our profession, getting injured is a normal occurrence."

"Just be careful next time..." Sophie sighed yet again, but changed the topic, "You said the Apollo Familia has tried recruiting you?"

"Yes."

"Then be careful around them. Their members are not the most desirable."

"They've been trying to provoke us, but we never acknowledged any of them, so you don't have to be worried about it."

Sophie then looked towards Aika with a blank expression, "Then why did I hear about a certain girl from the Hestia Familia breaking the nose of someone from the Apollo Familia?"

Sona's eyes widened and she hurriedly turned towards Aika, who was already walking away, and asked her, "Why?"

"That bastard insulted Kisuke...", answered Aika.

But before Sona could say anything else, Sophie faced Koneko next and said with the same blank expression, "And what about this certain girl from the Hestia Familia who was kicking the balls of someone from the Apollo Familia?"

Sona hurriedly looked at Koneko who was making the same expression as Aika, "...They insulted Kisuke-senpai."

Sona could only sigh, "And here I am, trying to ignore their bullshit..."

"I don't think it'd end with just this, so watch your backs." Sophie let it go since she heard the injuries they caused only needed a low-quality potion to remedy. She then looked towards the new faces and said, "Mind introducing them to me? Are they going to register?"

Sona nodded, "Yes. They already received their Falna from Artemis-sama, but our future ventures would be as one so I'd really appreciate it if you would take them under your wings."

"I don't mind, but it's really rare for two Familias to take a single advisor."

With that, Sona introduced each and every one of them and they registered themselves as Level 1s.

After a few more reminders, the group left for the Dungeon.

Arriving on the upper floors of the Dungeon, they went towards a certain corner where Adventurers didn't normally pass through.

Sona then explained to everyone that in order to gain Excelia to Level up, they can't use their real abilities and could only depend on the Magic Power and other parameters that the Falna provided them.

But before they went into their killing spree, Sona asked Akeno and Irina to cast their magic without the Magic Power provided by Falna and there they found out that they couldn't do it properly without putting in extra effort and intense focus.

Sona explained that without the Falna's help, it was extremely hard to control the Magic Power and Ki in this world. The only way to properly control that is if one had enough mastery over Magic, like Serafall.

So aside from their strong bodies, nothing worth mentioning could be said about Akeno and Irina, making them feel extremely helpless.

Sona comforted them, "Well, don't worry about it too much. You're in the same situation as us when we first arrived here. We had to train harshly every day just to use our normal abilities."

"Then let's go bash in the heads of these monsters! I want to level up soon, ´cause I heard from Ki-tan that despite the minimal addition to one's strength, it's apparently extremely beneficial for the soul itself~!"

"If it's Nee-sama, this floor should be extremely easy for you. We'll only stay here for an hour, just to get used to this Dungeon and then we'll move further below based on Akeno-san and Irina-san's skill level."

"S-somehow... I'm sorry for being so useless.", Irina muttered.

"I-I'll do my best not to hold you back.", added Akeno.

The suffering of both of them had just started.