CHAPTER 75(Item Aquired)

Please read the author's notes. (Examples and explanation of moves and appearance+ Monster Sources)

Discord: https://discord.gg/K7f8qGpvuk

pat.treon:/Keanu_Eugene

CHAPTER START---

Looking up at the crystals in the ceiling, Yang lowers his eyes as he lays on his back inside a trench carved out by his own body slamming into the dirt floor.

"You ok?" Thalie's voice calls out as she walks up to his dirt bed.

"Define OK..." He groans out while slowly sitting up.

"You're alive so you're ok enough, where the hell is Welf?" She asks, now standing on the edge of the trench, the normal floor easily four feet above the hole Yang is sitting in.

"In the tree, Rocs are solitary so he should be fine, I hope. Not like it wouldn't have rushed out with the other one when it felt my magic anyway."

"Makes sense, check this..." She says while throwing a thumb over her left shoulder, directing him to come to see.

"How'd you find me so easily, this floor is hu---," he cuts himself off as he looks at the trench he made, rocks and dirt torn up with molten bits and pieces thrown around, easily visible amongst the flat and spacious forest floor. "Nevermind, so wha---"

"Yeah, more than we expected huh," she says while lightly patting the Rok claw, the size of a minivan, a clear trail in the dirt from where she dragged it over.

"Uh-huh, at least we don't have to do this again, just between us, I feel like I got bitch slapped by a fucking hurricane," he groans out.

"Yeah you look like it, get your flames out and start healing." She says while pointing to his face.

Unbeknown to him, his face was mostly blue and black, between being slammed into the dungeon wall by what's effectively a hurricane and crashing into the floor hard enough to dig out a trench, his experience shows on his face.

As his flames begin flaring to life, softer flames meant to simply trigger his element resistance and healing skills over time.

"We gotta carry this the old-fashioned way or can you store it?" She asks while leaning against the talon.

"Uh, it's about the size of the supporter packs we brought and Welf's forging stuff so it should be fine, dunno if everything's gonna fit to go back though," He says while walking up and placing his palm on the Talon.

Slowly, shimmering white magic envelops the Talon, eventually storing it successfully.

"Why'd it take so long?" Thalie asks with a quirked brow.

"It's never really instant, that's why I don't really bring out potions during heavy combat, anything that can press me won't give me a chance to concentrate and bring out potions," he says with a shrug.

"Huh, makes sense, let's go get the redhead."

"Says the purple hair," He jokingly replies.

"Purple by choice," she casually replies while walking toward the massive tree.

"Thought girls don't like people knowing they dye their hair?" He asks while quickening his pace to match her.

"People knowing doesn't make me look any less pretty, and if we're spending long expeditions around each other it'll eventually start fading so you'd find out eventually," she explains with a shrug.

"Huh, fair enough..."

After a few minutes, they arrive at the base of the tree, only to find Welf already standing on the forest floor, holding a massive 7ft feather.

"There wasn't a second one, or smaller ones, but this didn't disappear either so we can probably use it somehow," he says while passing the feather for Yang to store away.

"That's good, honestly was pretty sure there was just one but glad you're ok man, it's probably a bit after lunch now, so what now?" Yang asks.

"Um, did you get the other thing?" Welf questions, not sure if they got the drop item that they were hunting.

"Oh yeah, it's pretty big though so carrying it back AND our stuff might be too much," Yang informs him.

"Hmmm," the smith puts on his thinking face, raising a finger to his chin, "If it's too big we can probably just make Ingots, usually that's impossible but your magic let me bring lots of extra equipment with us and we've got everyone watching out for monsters at camp," Welf adds.

"That'll work, now let's head to the collesium," Yang says with a shrug.

"Ugh!" Welf groans, completely ignored by his teammates.

Two hours of brisk walking and uneventful encounters later, Welf and Thalie now sit atop the collesium of the 37th floor, legs dangling over the edge of the wall, only 10ft above the highest row of seats as they enjoy some food picked at the safe zone.

In the fighting pit, however, a roaring flame constantly slams against the walls of the arena, rushing outward from the center of the ring and slamming against the walls, slowly melting the stone.

In the middle of the arena. Yang slowly breathes, in and out, his chest rises and falls as he sits in the middle of the arena. His eyes closed and trying his best to relax with the flames roaring around him.

The elemental wheel would be seen on his back, a bright ring of blue flames if he weren't engulfed in an ocean of flames.

With both his closed fists pressed against each other in front of his stomach, he focuses on feeling the magic being released, reigning it in from permeating the ground, willing it to remain in his flames and go no further, bending and folding layer upon layer of magic to increase the intensity of his attack without increasing the magic consumption.

"Is this really the best place for this?" Thalie asks, "Dunno how I feel about him, um...meditating? In a literal pit of endless monsters."

"Yeah I feel the same way, but it makes sense honestly. Most of these monsters are level 3 here so they're pretty useless for you two in terms of exelia, but Spartoi and all the skeletal types have magic resistance, he's training his skill while training his magic control. A pretty genius idea when you think about it," Welf informs the woman.

"Hmm, that why he refuses to just be a regular artillery mage, lack of control, definitely coulda fooled me," she says while squinting, trying to peer through the sea of flames to see his outline.

"Nah, he says he wants to keep his 'Well rounded build' as he put it, his skills are geared around artillery and close combat so he wants to develop both and use the middle ground too, we talked a bit about it when Hephaestus sent us down into the dungeon to get plants and some items the first time we met," Welf replies as he takes a bite of what would appear to be an orange, but instead it had a soft jelly inside.

"Huh, seems like a lot of work, he's damn relentless with training though."

"Adventurers don't improve because they think just dungeon delving is enough, they never put their mind into what they do to train, Falna basically spells out what you need to work on but they swing swords all day and expect to make it to the top, that's what he said at least, normally I'd say it's not right to generalize people like that, but..." Welf trails off, giving a small shrug.

"His records make it hard to argue, yeah, kids a freak, glad he's one of us." Thalie jokes as she takes a sip of water.

"Why do you keep calling us kids, you're 21 we're 17, it's not that far you know."

"Meh, a bad habit I guess, besides you haven't been as... exposed... to how fucked this world can be, you've still got that childlike innocence, don't lose it alright," she says with a small, sad smile as they both look toward the arena.

"Yeah, guess you're right, I was only a soldier for a few months anyway, most of the pain I caused was from what my swords did, but I'll cast a shadow so big the world is gonna be thankful for my creations one day."

With a sense of finality and conviction in his voice, a deep smile forms on Welf's face as he looks down at his hands, hands that caused so much pain, but the same hands that will make the future he wants to have, the legacy he wants to leave behind.

"Jeez, first wanting Hephaestus and now this, just one big dream after another... hopefully we're there to see it, kid."

"Yeah, we'll all be there," Welf says as they both fall into a comfortable silence.

---Floor 39 Camp, a few hours later...

"Are you sure about this?" Yang asks Welf, standing in their little training area besides some equipment and the massive Roc talon drop item as Welf lines up some equipment nearby.

"Yeah just melt it and I'll take care of the rest, the equipment I brought can't get hot enough to deal with this so you're the only real option here."

"Sigh, alright just, maybe get back a bit..." Welf backs up to the edge of the treeline before Yang begins.

"Starting now," he says as blue flames erupt in his hands while holding the item above the ground.

Closing his eyes, he focuses on pushing magic into the item to heat it. A long and tedious process but the best way to avoid wrecking the surrounding forest, and excellent practice for his magic.

"That's it just a few more minutes!" Welf yells as the item begins glowing red hot.

"Mhm," is all Yang can afford to hum in response, his full focus on the item in his grasp.

After nearly ten more minutes of continuously pushing magic into heating the item, Yang opens his eyes when Welf calls for him to stop.

"Why does it look like that?" He asks, the large item now malformed as if it were collapsing in on itself, but not falling apart, almost as if it were being pulled toward its center of mass.

"Some organic drop items get refined when superheated like that and condense, we used more Amphisbanea parts than the size of this talon just for your gear, why'd you think it hasn't melted off you yet..." the young man says while taking out his tools and hammering away at the still shrinking item.

"So how much are we gonna have from this?" Yang asks, not liking where this is going.

"Well... I wanted to do this so we'd know how much one talon gives us to work with, but from the rate it's being condensed, maybe a dozen or so Ingots, at least for what we plan to make and how refined it's gonna have to be. If we stick to the design you gave we'll need more than this, maybe two or three more talons, happy hunting flyboy."

"Ugh, fighting more Rocs, great," Yang groans while watching the smith do his thing.

CHAPTER END---

Bonus chapter to ask who's your favourite side character in danmachi or this book, personally, I'm all in for Bete after catching up with Sword Oratoria LNs, haven't read the Familia Myth LNs because I really don't care about soft boy Bell :/