7

Ziggy and Asuka walk down the northern main street towards the Babel, having just left the last store of their 'date.' Ziggy had prearranged with the stores for his visit before heading home after the dungeon. Most of the decent clothing stores were on this street, ending at the Loki Familia's Twilight Manor. It was the reason he ran into the group of Loki's children on his way home before.

Ziggy even had the packages delivered back to the Peach Blossom Palace, so they didn't have to carry them all. Asuka is a modest and shy girl, so she felt awkward getting fitted and more so accepting gifts from Ziggy, especially the underwear.

Asuka seemed attached to her original outfit, but Ziggy pointed out that a threadbare length of cloth did very little to maintain her modesty, she relented. 'Not that I didn't appreciate the view,' he thought at the time.

Her new outfit was similar to her previous one but didn't leave her fanny hanging in the wind. The outfit consisted of brown leggings with a long yellow tunic with minimal red embellishments around the collar, hem, and sleeves. A red belt finished the ensemble with enough room for belt pouches and the like when she went adventuring.

The last store they went to was cobbler to commission a sturdy pair of boots for Asuka. The boots would take a day or two, and Ziggy put a downpayment on them so he could pick them up on his way back from the dungeon.

Ziggy looks at the cute girl next to him, fiddling with her new belt and hem of her tunic. She looks about as comfortable as a cat in a rain barrel. "Feeling overwhelmed?" he asks.

"Hmm? N-no. No, I'm okay," Asuka replies.

He smiles wryly. "It's okay, you know?" he says. "I kind of pulled you along in a whirlwind... I'm sorry about that, by the way. I didn't mean to push you so far. I promise the rest of the time is just to relax and get to know one another."

They're quiet for a few minutes as Babel towers over them. "W-why did you?" Asuka asks, breaking the silence.

"Push you? I think to take you out of your comfort zone a little. That and I was a little worried about your other outfit."

"I-I meant, why did you want to take me out, to begin with?" she whispers.

"Oh," Ziggy says, surprised, but not really. "Well, you are quite cute and sweet, but you're also shy, so I wanted to break open that shell to see what else you are."

She frowns. "Why were you worried about my clothes?"

"As I said, you're very cute and sweet. I was afraid some bad guy would try to take advantage of you. More so, I was worried that the bad guy would be me. I seem to run into you a lot and end up in compromising situations. I'd prefer that if we have one of those situations that it be at your urging that it escalates and not because of your clothes."

Her frown becomes a blush. A few more minutes pass in silence as they pass Babel and veer due east.

A chill passes over Ziggy, and he stops and turns. He feels his heart start to race and blood accelerate through his veins like cold fire. A weight settles on him, but he can't pinpoint where it's coming from. Eventually, the feeling passes, and Asuka is tugging his coat sleeve.

"Are you alright?" she asks.

He scans the area one more time before answering. "Yeeeah," he says, drawing out the word. Looking down at the worried face, he smiles. "I'm fine. I'm probably just a little hungry. Come on. I hear good things about the Hostess of Fertility."

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"Welcome to the Hostess of Fertility, nya!" a petite brunette catgirl wearing a green and white maid outfit says. "Would you a table-nya, or you can take a seat at the bar?"

"A table, please," Ziggy says.

"Table for two, nya," she calls out.

The waitress brought Ziggy and Asuka over to a table. "Would you like to order some drinks-nya?"

Ziggy looks over at Asuka, "Order whatever you want, Asuka," he says.

"Um. May I have some juice, please?"

Ziggy smiles. "I'll have the same."

"Coming right up," the catgirl says. "By the way, I'm Anya. If you need anything, just let me know."

Ziggy smiles. "Thanks, Anya."

She walks away to place their order, and Ziggy and Asuka settle into a slightly uncomfortable silence. Asuka fidgets in her seat a little, and Ziggy decides to spare her a little. "So, what kind of food do you like? This place is supposed to have a pretty good chef, so I'm told."

"Oh, um. I'm not picky," Asuka says.

"Alright, well, how about we get a couple of things to share and see what we like," Ziggy says.

"That sounds like a great idea," a bright and cheerful voice says.

Ziggy and Asuka look over and another waitress in the green and white maid outfit. She's young but has grey hair and eyes and a friendly smile on her face. She is carrying a couple of glasses of juice which she sets down in front of the two before stepping back with a slight bounce. "I'm Syr, one of the waitresses here. So, what would you two like to try?" she asks.

Asuka's exposure to food was practically Spartan. The Takemikazuchi Familia did not spare much for luxuries often. They had a goal, and that took priority. Asuka struggles for a few minutes before deferring to Ziggy. He orders several small portions and a family-style pasta dish.

Syr takes note of Ziggy's requests and wanders off towards the kitchen past a stout-looking woman who watches over the restaurant like a hawk looking for prey. Ziggy looks around the place at the mildly rowdy adventurers. None of them are too over the top, the owner wouldn't stand for it, and she's no one to trifle with.

Returning his attention to the fidgeting girl across from him, Ziggy smiles a little. "Tell me something about yourself," he says.

"W-what!?" she says back, clearly caught off guard.

"It could be anything," he says. "Where you grew up, what your favorite color is, what's your favorite time of the year, just something about you, and then I'll tell you something about me. Fair?"

"Um. I'm-ah- an orphan?" she says.

Ziggy shakes his head. "I feel like that's cheating, but alright. Let's see," he says. After a moment, he says, "I, too, am without parents in this world. Though, to be fair, that is a recent thing. I grew up with both of my parents, but just before I came here, I was separated from them."

Asuka was looking at him with wide sympathetic eyes. It made him a little uncomfortable. Poor Jess probably got stuck letting his parents know. They lived in a different part of the country. Ziggy had moved away after college and only went back to visit on holidays.

Ziggy grimaces a little. "Why don't we do another round," he says. "I'll start this one. I've always been interested in magic. Spells, items, potions, you name it, I find them all fascinating. I just found out I learned my first spell. So, now I can cast magic. It's like a dream come true."

Asuka smiles. "That's amazing. It took me so long to learn a spell. Before, I was always at the back with Katori and Chigusa with a bow while Ouka, Suwa, and Mikoto held the front. Chigusa would often act as a supporter, but she'd also flank the monsters with her dagger or hold the back when monsters spawned behind us. I was never very good with weapons. That's why I was happy when I learned my protection spell and could use that to keep the others safe."

The two take turns talking about their lives and the hopes and dreams that have brought them to where they are. Ziggy had to heavily edit his experiences. No point in freaking out the poor girl by shattering her worldview.

When the food came, the conversation continued but at a slightly slower pace. Eventually, the conversation switched from them giving out bits of information to asking each other about specific things. Questions like, what is your favorite childhood memory—Asuka's involved playing with the noble fox-girl, Haruhime. Ziggy's involved a journey to a far-off city run by an anthropomorphic mouse, though he referred to him as a rare type of beast person.

By the time they finished their meal, Asuka was laughing and smiling; her nervousness had all but disappeared. "You know, I never asked what your magic does. Can you tell me?" she asks.

Ziggy thinks about it for a moment, but seeing her hopeful eyes, he can't say no. "Alright, but I have to swear you to secrecy. It's a pretty strange spell. Promise not to tell anyone?"

She nods. Ziggy doesn't actually care if other people find out. He'd prefer to keep it on the down-low, but the second someone sees him running around in the dungeon with a monster doing his bidding, the secret will be out. So, while he won't advertise it, he isn't going to agonize over it either.

Waving her forward into a conspiratorial position with their faces close across the table, he whispers to her, "You know that the Ganesha Familia has that even every year, Monsterfilia?" he asks. She nods, and he continues. "They do that and show off their ability to tame monsters.

Well, my ability does something similar, but instead of techniques to break their will, mine, my power binds them to me so I can summon them to do my bidding. So, I can make the monsters fight other monsters for me, and there is no chance that they can break free either because it is my magic that keeps them here."

Asuka looks at him with saucers for eyes and her jaw a little slack. "That's..."

Broken, cheating, incredibly unbalanced?

"... amazing," she says. Ziggy nods. It most certainly is that. Now he has to start collecting monsters.

They talk for a few more minutes before Ziggy settles the bill, and they walk home together. Ziggy is almost surprised that there wasn't any significant drama.

Back at the Peach Blossom Palace, Ziggy walks to her Familia's quarters. "I enjoyed spending time with you, Asuka. Thank you for coming out with me."

Asuka was fidgeting again, but she screwed together her courage. "I should be thanking you," she says. "Um... could you lean down a little?"

Ziggy smiles and leans in. Asuka is barely one hundred forty-eight centimeters tall while Ziggy exceeds the one-ninety mark. Asuka nervously grabs him around his neck and pulls herself in to plant a chaste kiss on his cheek, and immediately runs down the hall to her room.

Ziggy's eyes sparkle with delight. "Adorable," he says and walks back towards his room. He didn't notice the quiet goddess with the pale blue twin tails watching him and touching her lips.

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The sun barely crests the horizon in the morning to find Ziggy up to greet it. He stretches his body in various poses: Mountain Pose, Tree Pose, forward bend, standing backbend, back to forward bend, walk it out to Downward-Facing Dog, walk out further to a plank, drop the hips to Sphinx pose, push up to Cobra, continue to Upward-Facing Dog, and reverse.

Ziggy has no idea what the actual names of the positions are; Jessica was the one that was really into it. Still, he found that stretching and breathing exercises really did positively impact his health and body, so he continued with it as a regular part of his routine. The routine only took about thirty minutes, but it was only the start of his morning. This rotation of stretches was the first of three sequences that he liked to run through a few times each.

He would usually alternate between weight training and calisthenics. Here in Orario, though, there wasn't exactly a twenty-four-hour gym he was aware of, so instead, he cranked up the calisthenics. Most adventurers just relied on their Falna to give them all the strength they needed. That didn't seem like a solid idea to him.

He had a theory that if you didn't keep up with your regular body maintenance and fitness, you'd limit or slow your overall growth. Falna needs to be built on something, and if you have a shit foundation, you're going to have a shit building. If you have a solid foundation, everything built on it will be more efficient. Maybe it'll grow more efficiently too.

Once he finishes his strength training, he figures he should do some cardio. He was a runner in his previous life, and old habits die hard. He pulls his boots and shakes his head. "They fit well, but Nikes they are not. Maybe I'll try to figure out something like a wrap shoe with a rubber sole. There have to be plants I can make rubber out of, right? Not that I know how to make rubber," he mumbles. "Fuck it. I'll figure something out."

He gets up, grabs his shirt, and heads for the gate. Waving to the gate guards, he calls out, "Just going for a run. I should be back in an hour."

The guards look at each other with dumbfounded expressions. "What does he mean, 'going for a run,' and why was he carrying his shirt and not wearing it?" one asks the other, but the other man just shrugs.

The Peach Blossom Palace is not directly on the main road but slightly off the main drag down a side street. Ziggy makes it out to the main strip and turns towards Babel. He's not exactly sure how big Orario is, as depending on the angle it is viewed from, it seems to expand or contract in size, but he knows he can walk to Babel in about twenty minutes. His route is down the Northeast road to Babel up the Northern street towards the Twilight Manor and then cut across back to the Northeast road. If that's not far enough, he'll repeat it.

Running, he makes it to Babel in less than five minutes, and he starts to wonder if Ouranos built this place using space magic to fit more in it than should be possible or just used it to shrink the distances on the main strips to make travel throughout the city faster. Turning up the Northern street, he takes off at a run until he reaches the Loki Familia manor and then cuts back towards the Northeastern road.

He repeats the route a few more times since it only takes ten to twelve minutes per lap. Each pass, he gathers a little more attention, mostly from women who see a handsome shirtless man with the physique of an underwear model and a sheen of sweat glistening in the morning sun. Some of the married ones look between Ziggy and their husbands and swear.

On his third lap, he's stopped by a blond beauty with a kind of bland curiosity. "What are you doing?" Ais asks.

"Running," he says.

"Why?"

He nods at the question. "Ah, exercise, training, perfecting form and technique. Basically, I'm trying to consolidate a good foundation. It's also a good way to let your brain work through stuff. You just run and think, and things become clearer."

"You just run?" she asks.

"Well, it's part of my morning routine. I also do Yoga and calisthenics. And if I had a place to do it, I'd swim as well."

"What are yogah and kalestenics?

"You don't have Yoga here? I thought Ganesha might, but what do I know. Anyway, they're different forms of exercise, meditation, and breathing exercises designed to optimize the body and mind's health and wellbeing.

The benefits I get from Falna seem... incomplete. Like I'm wearing them instead of them being part of me. I'm trying to use exercise and meditation to help fully incorporate the stats from Falna. Once the gains fully integrate into my being, it should have better output and help accelerate my growth. At least, I hope it will."

That sparks her interest. "Do you think it works?" Ais asks.

"IIII believe it will," Ziggy says, drawing out the 'I.' "I don't have any solid data on it, but I think there is a good chance. If nothing else, it's good to learn about your body and how to move it best."

Ais nods, looking down as though thinking about something. After a moment, she asks, "Can I join you?"

"Sure, I usually do this first thing in the morning just as the sun is coming up. I'll leave a message with the guards that you might come to visit some mornings."

"Thank you," she nods and turns to walk away.

"Hey, Ais," he calls out, and she turns back to look at him.

"One thing I'm pretty sure of is that the higher your abilities are when you level up, the stronger you will become later. Try to max out your abilities before taking a level up. It would be best if you took every advantage to become stronger.

It's not just the level that is important but the foundation that the level is built upon. I'm sure you've seen it with other adventurers. Those who barely get the minimums before leveling end up as poor excuses for adventurers of their new level."

Ais thinks about that for a second, looks back over to Ziggy, and nods before walking back into the Twilight Manor.

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Ais walks back to the manor, deep in thought. Could it be true? Has she been in such a rush to become stronger she unknowingly diminished her potential for the future? He was right about one thing. She has noticed that if an adventurer advances before their status has matured to a higher state, their next level seems weaker than others.

She noticed it when she transitioned from level two to level three. Another adventurer had made their level up at around the same time she had, but his strength was vastly inferior, and he has been stuck at level three ever since.

How will she defeat the One-Eyed Black Dragon if she limits her potential? She watches as Ziggy completes another lap, his muscular body shimmering in the early morning light. For some reason watching him run calms her worries. Maybe she will take his offer and join him one morning.

"Dragonslayer," she mumbles.

"Go-good morning, Miss Ais," an excited voice calls from behind her.

Ais turns to the chipper yet nervous person walking up behind her. Lefiya walks towards the stoic blond, her hands gripping her staff; Riveria by her side.

"Good morning," she greets the two elves.

"What were you looking so intensely at, Ais," Riveria asks.

Ais turns back to the street below the wall and the athletic man running towards them. "Him," she says, nodding in Ziggy's direction.

The two elves look in the direction they indicate and see the shirtless man running up the street, the gazes of the citizens following him.

Riveria blinks but schools her expression quickly. Lefiya, though... Lefiya turns bright red. "Wh-wh-what is he doing!?" she practically shouts.

"He said he was consolidating his foundation. He said if you don't have a strong foundation, you won't be as strong as you could be when you level," Ais says.

Riveria raises an eyebrow. "And just running around helps?" She silently added to word 'shirtless' in her head.

Ais shrugs. "Maybe. He does other things, too. I may join him to see."

"Interesting," Riveria says with interest before sighing and returning to her usual tone. "Well, we're going on an expedition soon, so if you're going to join him on his morning runs, it'll have to be in the next couple of days."

Ais nods. "Un."

Lefiya, still redfaced, watches as Ziggy rounds the corner down a side street towards the Northeastern road, her head slightly bouncing in time with Ziggy's stride.

"Come along, Lefiya," Riveria says, turning to walk away from the wall. "If Mister Solomon is so hardworking, how can we be any less."

"O-Oh, yes," Lefiya says, following but still casting glances back towards the direction Ziggy ran.

Ais thinks about that briefly and decides Riveria is right. She turns and heads off to the practice field, still mulling over what Ziggy said.

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Ziggy wipes the sweat and dust from his run and heads to the practice field, where he usually trains with the Takemikazuchi Familia. Ziggy sees three women with similar faces waiting for him in the training area. One holding a metal spear, another a bow, and the third does not appear to be carrying a weapon, but Ziggy knows she is.

Ziggy steps up and gives a bow. "Miss Mao, Miss Wei, Miss You," he nods to each in turn. "I hope that I am not late."

"You have arrived at the appropriate time," Mao says. "We were just preparing for your lessons. You have us for the entire day. This morning we will each give you a crash course in the aspects of our preferred weapons, and then after lunch, we will review to see your progress. Mistress seems to believe that you are some kind of prodigy. We will see."

Mao has brown hair with golden highlights and her family's signature azure eyes. Down, her hair flows in waves to just below her shoulders, but she has currently tied her hair in a short ponytail. Her metal spear has a leaf-shaped blade and an ornate guard shaped like a bird with its wings extended slightly. Mao has a serious yet calm personality. When she says that they will see if he is genuinely a prodigy, she means just that with no malice or condescension.

Wei, the one carrying a recurve bow, has long dark pink currently tied back in a side tail, probably to avoid it getting in the way of her targeting. As with her sisters, Wei possesses beautiful azure eyes. Ziggy finds her to be a cool customer, if not a bit stand-offish. Maybe not a complete tsundere like her redheaded sister, but perhaps a bit arrogant.

Finally, You has short light pink hair and a pleasant and sweet personality, but Ziggy sees something in her azure eyes that sends a bit of a chill down his spine. He's not sure if the pink hair, the daggers that she seemingly makes appear and disappear at will, or the fact that her magic allows her to blend seamlessly into her surroundings, is what makes him uncomfortable. Still, he is pretty sure she's dangerous.

Ziggy bows again. "I appreciate you taking the time to show me the ropes and for the opportunity to learn."

Wei smirks. "Of course," she says dismissively. "If we don't show you what to do, you may embarrass goddess Xuannu. I will not permit that."

"Be nice, sister," You says. "Ziggy went to the dungeon for the first time yesterday, and Goddess Xuannu said he did very well. Far above the average experienced adventurer."

"Hmph," Wei says. "If he did so well, why did she ask for the three of us to train him?"

"Oh, I asked her to see if you were available," Ziggy says. "I'm pretty new, and I wanted to broaden my knowledge of weapons. I went with the sword yesterday because I had one, but that doesn't mean it is the best option for me. Also, while I did alright yesterday, there were a few areas I wanted to get some tips on.

Particularly on the ranged attacks. I missed badly with a throwing dagger yesterday, and I wanted to correct that and have more ranged options in my repertoire, like the bow for sniping targets from concealment and similar situations."

Wei looks at Ziggy with an appraising eye. "Fine," she says. "I'll start. No point in getting you after Mao has beaten you to a pulp. Come here."

Ziggy follows her over to an area with several targets. She picks up a short recurved bow about three and a half feet long. "This is a short recurve bow. It is compact but packs quite a punch for its size. In the more confined area of the upper levels of the dungeon, it is better to have a smaller weapon. So, we will be teaching you with this."

She turns towards a target slides an arrow out of her quiver with a smooth and practiced motion which continues into an equally smooth and practiced draw and release. The arrow strikes the center of the target, and in a fluid motion, four more arrows fly, hitting the center of the other four targets.

"It is not enough to be able to hit a target; you must be able to shoot quickly and smoothly. Yours and your party members' lives may rely on your ability to fire accurately and rapidly. Now, let's see what you can do."

Ziggy expected this. He steps up to the line, draws an arrow, and sights down to the target. With a fwip, the arrow crosses the distance and strikes the target slightly to the right of center. Wei frowns.

"Hmph," she says. "Your aim is off, your speed is too slow, and your technique is barbaric. Watch my hands while I fire, then I will have you fire one thousand arrows. You'll have one hour to complete this task."

'His first shot, and it was nearly perfect,' Wei thinks as she draws her bow once more. 'It had to have been beginner's luck.'

She fires five arrows in rapid succession, placing them within an area about the size of a mid-size coin. She nods to herself and then looks over at a few servants carrying quivers of arrows. She nods, and they approach, setting them down near the range line. "Now," she says. "Every arrow must hit the target, or you will have to start over. Remember, you only have one hour until it is You's turn to tort- I mean to educate you."

Wei wasn't precisely off when she thought he got lucky with his first shot. He'd never fired an arrow before, but his hand-eye coordination is still very high. Ziggy takes a deep breath and realizes this will be a long day. He pulls the first of a thousand arrows from the quiver and draws it back on the bowstring to his cheek, taking a breath and holding it. Release-