Chapter Nine: Progress

Four-Days Later; Morrigan's Day

"Again!" Takemura shouted.

"Oooh!" Corwyn yelled as he struck down with his training polearm, freshly forged, upgraded, and enchanted. He'd saved for the past four days for this piece of gear.

'Uncommon - Polearm Staff of Training and Attainment'

Training: The effects of training are done with refinement and purpose. You will extract knowledge and ability from even the most simple and easy of actions while wielding this piece of equipment. This effect is amplified by the quality of the training and or instruction.

Attainment: You are on the path of reaching a goal. While wielding this piece of gear, you grow ever closer towards your goal. Bottlenecks are nothing in the path of progress.

As Corwyn struck down, his muscles strained as he withheld the blow from striking against a flower petal and let the floating foliage drift around his weapon, firm and unyielding as he froze, without even the smallest amount of shaking.

Takemura shook his head, "Your progress is unreal, Corwyn-san. A month of training, likely more for the untalented, done in three days. You've been ready to go to the dungeon yesterday, yet you still wish to train?"

Corwyn snorted. "I am building a foundation. Surely your master taught you as such?"

Takemura nodded, but countered, "Yes, he did. However, such a foundation was also built in pools of blood."

Corwyn hummed, "Your words hold truth." He mused. "Very-well, our next meeting I will head to the Dungeon."

Takemura nodded, "I am eager to see how you will face the Dungeon, Corwyn-san."

Corwyn nodded. "As am I. I seek to first get used to the blood and gore of the Dungeon. I am not a man native to violence, so my first kill may be...ugly."

Hojo snorted, "You will not be the first to loose their lunch at the sight of a corpse. It will not taint my perception of you."

"I thought we went over this?" Corwyn sniped as he struck out against another flower. His tongue clicked as the strength of his blow tore the petal with air-pressure.

"Do you respect me?" Hojo asked, sipping a cup of tea.

"...Fine. You win this one."

Hojo smiled. "Continue. I need to meet my new familia today."

"Oh? You have joined a familia?" Corwyn asked.

"The Takemikazuchi Familia has taken me in. My former god, Yaboku has a good relationship with him."

"Yaboku, Yaboku..." Corwyn tasted the name on his tongue. "Yato?" He muttered.

"You know his alternate name?" Takemura asked, surprised.

"Yes, the God of Fortune, or Calamity, yes?"

Takemura chuckled, "Fate has a strange sense of humor, no?"

"Indeed." Corwyn nodded. "Was he your master?"

"Yes. Yes he was."

"Well, I won't keep you here, Takemura." Corwyn said as he took another strike at a falling petal. He smiled as it drifted around his staff.

"Continue." The man said as he got up and cleaned his small picnic.

Corwyn sighed as he focused up and continued striking the air late into the evening. He eventually stopped, grabbing his barbell he'd take with him to the park he and Takemura trained at and fixed the weights to its and two buckets full of water.

"Not a drop." He muttered, squatting down and lifting the set up. Water sloshed inside the buckets and Corwyn started his way back to the smithery.

...

"Corwyn! Good to see ya' lad. How's the training?" Nov asked as Corwyn entered the smith from the back entrance. His hair and body were wet, and a rag was being used to dry himself off. He was also in his smithing gear.

"Good. Good. I'm heading to the Dungeon on Kronosday, Setsday, and Morriganday. I'm free Thothsday, Wodinsday, and Freyday too."

"The dungeon already?" Nov brushed his beard with his hand covered in soot. "Well, I hope you feel you're ready, lad. Dungeon's not for the under-prepared!"

"No worries about that, old man. I'm actually hoping on making my first set of armor and weapon this week."

"Oh? Ambitious. A full set in a week?"

"Hmm, maybe not that far. Need some quality control after all." Corwyn said with a cheeky smirk.

"Pssh. Brat." Nov waved at the cheeky smith. "Get a few years under your belt before you get that cocky."

Corwyn chuckled. "Yeah, yeah old man. Anyway, I'll be in the forge for the most part. If I'm not I'll be in the market or Guild. Oh, or the back."

"The back? Oh, you and your weird morning ritual. What did you call it, 'working out'?" Nov asked.

"Yeah. Building muscle."

"Kid, we're smiths. All the muscle you need comes from the hammer. Not those massive hunks of steel out back."

"We're Adventurer Smiths, and I've noticed High-Level Adventurers often get 'frozen' at the physical appearance they started gaining stats in. Muscle-tone is rare for Adventurers, and I'd like to have a nice body." Corwyn flexed his bicep, enjoying the feeling of his muscle bulging out into hard rock and steel.

Nov hummed at the flexing muscle and nodded. "You might be onto something lad. Anyway, better get to work. Daylights almost out, and forging using the magic-lights costs money."

"See ya', Nov." Corwyn waved.

"See ya', Brat."

....

Thorsday, Three Days Later.

Corwyn pushed his glasses up a bit as they fell along his nose, "Ms. Rose, it says here that the judicial powers of the Guild are limited in the Dungeon and that it is effectively a 'free-for-all' zone. What are the judicial means and how can a claim be made and fought against inside the dungeon? What if some murderer goes around killing dozens of Level Ones, or a powerful familia has a party of bad-elements that seeks to mug, rob, or kill Adventurers inside the Dungeon? What would be your recommended approach to these situations?"

Rose righted herself, straightening out her posture. "Well, there are several layers of 'protection' as weak as they are for such cases. For one, a God will know if their child has murdered another adventurer, such an experience is very difficult to guise in the Falna and upon updating it, the experience will be known to the god." Rose started.

Corwyn nodded as he followed along.

"However, and sadly, there are many apathetic, lazy, or uncaring gods in Genkai. These gods may not care for such acts, or may even promote them." Rose pinched the bridge of her nose. "Truly, it is near impossible for the Guild to act in any manner or authority inside the Dungeon, save warranting or sending out bounties on 'rumors' and patterns of killings. Of which are often false, or never taken in."

Corwyn hummed, "So the Guild acts more as the authority on the surface, keeping the status quo within Orario stable than any authority figure within the dungeon." Corwyn stated with Rose nodding hesitantly.

"What about a report within the Dungeon? Say a familia claims a Pass Parade or Murder happened within the Dungeon, and fingers are pointed without evidence? Will the divine 'truth' seeking abilities be in play? Are there ways to surpass or trick such a power?" Corwyn asked as he tapped his notepad with a pen.

Rose frowned and paused for a few seconds as she considered the questions. "Reports about crimes within the Dungeon are rare. If a familia survives such a thing, like a Pass Parade and makes a claim that was true then those claims would be grounds for a War Game." Rose sighed and looked at Corwyn writing down notes.

"Mr. Hallows." Rose started, her voice uncharacteristically soft. "The Dungeon is a deadly place. To walk down those stairs is to walk into a realm where the laws of men and mortals do not hold weight or worth."

Corwyn looked up and smiled, "Thanks for caring, Rose. And I've told you, call me Corwyn." He jabbed his pen at his paper creating a period, before snapping it closed. "My final question today would be about War Games. Are there laws protecting the targeting of less developed and powerful familias against powerful familias?"

"War Games must have a justification, to which witnesses will take a stand and present their word before a Courtly Denatus." Rose responded.

Corwyn frowned, "Hmm, not perfect, however, I shouldn't need to worry too much about that as I have a strong familia behind me." Corwyn muttered. He then stood and smiled at Rose. "Thank you, Miss Rose, you've been a wonderful help to me."

"You're welcome, Corwyn." Rose bowed her head.

"Oh, one more thing. I'll be heading out to the Dungeon next Kronos Day. I won't be going far and I'll have a level three escort. So don't worry about me." Corwyn said.

Rose's eyes widened. "Already?" She muttered, her heart racing. A brittle smile formed on her face and she nodded. "Be safe, Corwyn."

"Always." Corwyn nodded to her and turned to leave.

Her heart didn't stop straining.