Ottar Level8

Chapter Twenty-Three: Futatabi ō

"It took you longer than I thought"

"Sorry about that; had to come down with everyone for the mapping work"

"Ah, you finished it, then? Not bad; it'll be useful for the lower level ones, even though some will probably make foolish decisions with it"

"That much is out of our hands; the Guild has a complete map to the 18th, that's the main point. Are you ready?"

"Of course" without another word, Aedan and Ottar left the Under Resort, making their way straight down into the deep levels of the Dungeon. The two men spoke less than Haroeris' last trip with Bell, but it was to their nature. Aedan didn't need to advise the other man on this battle like he did with Bell's challenge. Ottar had faced Balor before, and was capable of beating him; he only needed some small level of support so that he could fight at his fullest.

On the way, the massive boaz needled his teacher about his past and plans for the future, saying that his goddess didn't speak much on the Denatus, so Haroeris indulged him, answering his questions. It seemed that Loki had clued her own familia- or at least the executives- in on the truth about his situation, and now that they and Ottar would almost certainly all be involved with him in the last Grand Quest, he felt obligated that everyone be on the same page. In a way, it was a show of trust, but it was also a choice as a teacher, to help the man relax into the little details while he truly focused on the fight ahead.

Aedan handled all of the monsters up to the point where Balor waited, having already spawned with a waiting group of Fomoires. This let a fresh Ottar go forward to meet the challenge.

"Good luck, young 'un" he sent the man off, "I'll be watching you" he smiled as Ottarl continued silently, and the battle began in earnest.

On the surface, Bell and the others completed the return and safely escorted Rose, Eina, and Misha to the Guild building just to be safe.

"Thank you Bell, everyone" Eina waved with a smile, "We'll take it from here. As soon as we have the word, you'll be notified of the completion of your hard work!" Her words caused the group to cheer, knowing that the only thing that waited for them now was compensation for the job, which was supposed to be considerable. Bidding the workers goodbye after exchanging their loot, Hestia Familia left; some of them had errands or things to do out in town, and broke off as they went back, but most went straight home. Mikoto and Oriana had planned a short training session with most of them, and the others intended on taking the rest of the day off.

Bell though, had something he wanted to try, but also one he needed to do. Two birds with one stone as his mind formed an idea to tackle the issues at once.

"Miss Alfia, would you mind coming with me to the upper floors of the Dungeon?"

"Captain, I don't mind, but what is it you wish to do?"

He had approached the other white-haired member of the Familia besides himself and Love; she was very quiet, and he had not gotten to know her as well as the others who had joined them in the past couple of months. He wanted to rectify that, or at least try.

"Well, I wanted to test out my new magic in the Dungeon; I haven't tried it yet, but honestly… I'm really excited to test it out! Would you come with me?"

"Of course" she gave him a small smile and followed him without another word. Unaware of the eyes following them, the pair walked back to the Dungeon entrance. It was true that Bell wanted to test the Caelum Veil magic he had received on his level up, and having Alfia there would ensure that nothing bad would happen even though he would stay in the upper floors of the Dungeon.

They arrived on the 10th floor, which he planned to use to hide his practice, since the fog would obscure the view of onlookers.

"Rage, wrath of heaven" he spoke the short chant softly, and bolts of lightning sprung into being, covering his whole body as he could see, crossing it like a living set of clothes, moving and jumping about. He already had a good grasp of his first-class abilities, so he could tell that this magic was improving his skills even farther; smiling widely, he shot off like the lightning he was wrapped in, taking out numerous monsters with ease before they even registered his presence. He marveled at his form as he raced around the floor; it was almost like he had levelled up! There was still something to test, though. He slowed to attract a large group of monsters, until he was surrounded by a sizable horde, before shouting, "Distel!" in a storm-like flurry, all of the electricity covering his body exploded out omnidirectionally into the monsters around him, making the whole crowd of them erupt into an ash cloud as magic stones and drop items fell to the ground, littering the Dungeon floor as he breathed.

"Impressive… it seems to boost your abilities overall, but particularly your agility" his companion mused as she approached him from her place observing from afar, "You seem to have grasped the fundaments of using your new magic"

"Thank you, Miss Alfia. It almost feels like when Haruhime casts her boost on me; really, it feels amazing, and my Mind doesn't feel that drained, even though I used the secondary chant"

"An enhancement-type magic of that nature likely won't drain you quickly, especially at your level and ability… you also seem to have an affinity for short-chant, elemental magics. I suggest using your firebolt while your Caelum Veil is active"

"Alright!"

They spent a little while in the Dungeon testing out his power, but he called an end to it before long, wanting to go elsewhere, since he had trained with her before. He decided to take her to one of his favorite bookstores- a place he was sure she would appreciate for its quiet solitude- and get some Jagamarukun after.

Lili was suspicious.

After they had gotten back home, she had waited a bit, but when master Bell didn't come back after going off with Miss Alfia, she decided to tell Lady Hestia. That was why she was suspicious. Their Goddess would obviously have overreacted to the news that Bell had gone off alone with the attractive woman, or she normally would have. Instead, she accepted the news calmly, saying that they would get back when they would, and the two were powerful enough together that they wouldn't need to worry about them.

That wasn't what Lili was worried about, obviously, and that their goddess wasn't worried was utterly strange!

Of course they were strong, but that wasn't the issue, and for Hestia to not see that was enough to leave her gob smacked… she knew Haruhime was a bit apprehensive about this development, but was handling things how she normally would with her slightly flustered daydreaming. Lili could admit that she had been… hesitant about the recent growth of their Familia, despite the good things it brought with it.

They were much more secure now, and had experienced members to guide the newer and future ones. Everyone got along well; it was nothing like Soma Familia was when she was a member. Still, one thing stuck out glaringly in her mind, aside from their increased tax burden: there were too many women!

It wasn't like she had a problem with any of them specifically, but there was too much potential in them stealing away master Bell's affections, that's all! Alfia was particularly dangerous in that regard to Lili's mind. The woman had a very similar air about her to the Sword Princess, who they all knew Bell was smitten with. However, Alfia was in their Familia, closer to him. Should things go sour with Aiz Wallenstein, Alfia Masalis might well prove to be his perfect type, waiting to accept his broken heart with open arms…

She shook her head; they had an alliance with Loki Familia now, so it seemed likely that Bell would only get closer with Aiz, and she had already accepted that Bell would probably not see her that way she sees him. Her thoughts were interrupted by an announcement from the entrance.

"We're home!"

She walked back to see Bell and Alfia carrying a large number of…

"Are those all Jagamarukun, master Bell?"

"Lili, hi! Yeah, we went to get some to eat, and decided to get enough to bring back for everyone; could you tell them?"

"… Yes master Bell!"

The battle was intense, but ultimately he succeeded; having given everything he had, he relied on the other man to ensure his safety after the conclusion of the fight against the floor boss.

"You may be beat right to hell, but victory is only sweeter for the pain, isn't it"

"… Yes, it feels… quite good, finally"

The Warlord and Haroeris had ascended without stopping to the under resort, the former basking in his success even as his wounds began to slowly recover, "I've no doubt that you will have gone to the next level from this; for now, continue training as you see fit, but as soon as I have gathered about all the support I can in Orario, I will arrange an expedition for all of us to solidify our alliance, train, and gain experience for everyone all at once"

"What do you have in mind to do that?"

"I'm going to take you all down to the 100th floor, obviously"

"!" Ottar looked at the other man in plain shock; it was enough to make him laugh.

"It will be enough if we are all first-class in strength, and it will be what is necessary to push everyone, and make them realize where they need to be, and exactly what will be required of us. After everyone in Orario that I can recruit is on board, I will travel abroad to seek out more allies for us; no time to dawdle. Only then can we arrange and complete this venture to train in the far deeps of the Dungeon"

"Indeed; how long do you think I have to train until this expedition?"

"I'm not sure… maybe a few of months? I'd like to talk to all of the first and second-class adventurers in the city if possible. After I have an understanding of who all will accept, we can move forward; most of my time will be in traveling outside the city, but I will assign you all training before I leave"

"That isn't much time to grow"

"Don't worry about that; you and Loki's kids will get most of your experience on that expedition; since the group will heavily rely on your strength past the 70th floor. I will try to take as much of a backseat as I can, which means you four in particular will hold a heavy burden"

"We don't even know what challenges await us on the 60th floor, let alone so far down"

"I may not fight unless it's necessary, but I will coach you all on the way down of course. You will know more or less what to expect from the Dungeon, and I know the main route already; those are the major issues already taken care of"

"I suppose… should I try to convince the first-class and second-class members of my Familia of your intentions? It will be difficult, but we have many powerful adventures in our number, enough to be called the strongest Familia in Orario"

"Yes, if you think it the best way to convince them; if I need to speak to them, I can, but if they adamantly refuse, it isn't worth strong-arming them into complying; we should only accept those who willingly aid us. Besides, it would be wise to leave some strength behind in Orario in case the Dungeon does something unforeseen when we go to battle the dragon, or heavens forbid if we fail in the quest"

Ottar hummed at his mentor's words, before shaking his head, "We won't fail. In this too, just like with Zald and Evilus, we will surpass Zeus and Hera"

"You're right, of course; well, I'm going to head back above ground. Stay in contact if anything comes up"

"I will"

Mr. Aedan arrived back at the Familia home in time for a late supper, which was joined by his captain and a couple others. Despite the company, Bell noticed that the man was even more quiet than usual; he was eating more slowly, and seemed tuned out of the conversation over the food. Keeping his thoughts to himself for now, he resolved to speak to him in the morning.

Ottar "King"

Level: 7} 8

Strength: S-999} SS-1002 (I-0)

Endurance: S-999} SS-1003 (I-0)

Dexterity: S-991} S-997 (I-0)

Agility: S-989} S-996 (I-0)

Magic: D-566} D-599 (I-0)

Magic Spell Slots:

1.) Hildis Vini: a powerful magic which manifests as an explosive force bent to the will of the caster. Its effect scales with the caster's status.

Chant: Silver moon's mercy, the golden wilderness. This body is destined for the wild boar of the war. Run through, carry the goddess' will.

-Hildis Vini-

Skills:

[Vana Arganture]: Vana Arganture allows Ottar to beastify, raising all of his abilities by an extremely large amount, and has an active trigger. Every use drains his stamina and mind by a large amount.

[Stortus Ottar]: When Ottar continues to fight, Stortus Ottar allows him to use the *Healing Power and *Spirit Healing development abilities, and strengthens all of his development abilities. The condition for the skill is in proportion to his status.

*Available Skill:

[Master der Ziege]: After failing to slay the rex, Ottar accomplished his goal of killing Balor on his own. This skill will greatly boost all of Ottar's abilities when fighting against goat or ram type monsters, similar to the rex, Balor.

Development Abilities:

Hunter E} D

Abnormal Resistance E} E

Magic Resistance F} E

Crush G} F

Strong Body G} F

*Healing Power -

*Spirit Healing -

*Available Abilities to choose from:

*Stamina I*

Mage I