The Knight
"What is going on?" Ais looks at Riveria. This time, in fear that she will have to spend the day with the dullard, Loki did not accompany her familia even if she wanted to and let loose new and creative insults. Aside from a few members of Loki Familia, there were also a few Ganesha Familiars outside the store with glum expressions.
— New Policy: The Store will be closed for the last two days of the week and the last four days of the month.—
Tiona, who had been looking forward to her bento lets out a defeated groan. Meanwhile, Riveria looked at Shakti, "I assume you have already purchased all the potions from Blue Pharmacy."
"Indeed," Shakti hums, "Miach-sama said that Jackal came to them... 1 in the morning before leaving in a hurry."
Riveria frowns and nods, "Very well... let's go."
"Fine," Ais glances at the store once again. As the group walks toward the exit of the street, a grey-haired woman in a green uniform walks past them and observes their glum expression curiously. Shrugging, she walks past them as Riveria and others nod at her.
While holding the large bag filled with food, the grey-haired woman glances at the closed store with curiosity blazing in her light grey pupils.
Entering Maria's orphanage, the girl smiles, "Good morning, Maria-san~! Did you miss me?"
"Oh, Syr, welcome!" Maria smiles fondly and helps the girl put the food on the table, "And of course, when do I and the kids not miss you? Ah, I wish you came yesterday. I wanted you to meet Jackal-san."
Tilting her head curiously, Syr blinks, "Jackal?"
"The store owner down the road," Maria grins, "You wouldn't believe half the things about him including the fact that he brings Bento for all of us every morning. Even today... well," blushing a little, Maria mutters, "I wish he didn't just decide to jog here that late in the night... what a thoughtless guy he is..."
"Heee?" Syr pouts, "So, you'll just replace me for any guy that comes along and charms you?"
"What, of course not! Ah... not that he charmed me!" Maria leans forward and states seriously before looking away, "Well... what I mean is that you're irreplaceable to us. So, I wanted you to meet him... I think you two would have hit it off well..."
Syr smiles, "Of course, I would like to meet him, Maria-san. Now, what are the things you said I won't believe?"
"Well... he insults Loki-sama and she comes back for more..."
"Sincerely, I don't believe you."
---
"Huff!"
Another Goblin disappears. Stopping in his tracks, Jackal looks at his ax.
'I can go for... two more hours,' His gaze blazes. Oh, he wants to beat the shit out of Bete, he does. So, the only logical thing to do is to come here. Hence, the weekends are officially for Dungeon dive alone.
But unwilling to leave Miach and Maria without the usual goods so suddenly, he decided to deliver things earlier than usual. Of course... seeing Eina, Naaza, and Maria in their nighties was a well-deserved bonus.
Anyway, his estimation of reaching a peak in Kobold's raw parameters was based on the fact he dove into the dungeon for four hours only every day. But now, he's already in for eight hours. Every kill exerts him, but it also rejuvenates him with strength.
Resolving to return to the surface only if he is down to his fourth ax or when he gets 'full' so that he can return to his home quickly, create potions, and return here, Jackal continued to slash at monsters mindlessly.
His mind worked reflexively to make his actions more effective. His body worked reflexively to be sharper!
And during his sixth hour... he reached the soft cap for Kobolds. Not because of Kobolds but the large number of Goblins that finally accumulated and pushed him ahead.
*Krk*
Snapping out of his thoughts, Jackal looks at the large brown lizard crawling along and his face splits into a wide grin.
"About time!"
He throws the ax and follows along with a strike that ends the lizard quickly and he feels a flicker of strength growing in him.
'I see... others cannot distinguish between the strength of monsters unless they have years of experience.
Jackal can innately sense this difference in strength with how much he gains... and even if slightly superior to Kobolds, the Dungeon Lizards are not that stronger.
'I should try and reach the Lizard's soft cap before going up to the first floor and hunting a Jack Bird...'
---
Sporting a thoughtful look, Eina returns alongside Rose and Misha to Pantheon. They wanted to visit Jackal... but the store is closed today and tomorrow.
Now that she is over her embarrassment in opening the door for Jackal tonight in nothing but a slightly translucent nighty that covered her undergarments and body, Eina can think a little clearer.
'Sorry, I won't be able to make Bento for tomorrow. There you go. Bye~!'
He gave her no moment to speak. Selfishly so, he took her in with his gaze, spoke his piece, and jogged away.
However, a bout of fluster makes her curl her toes.
'Why did you pick that nighty!' She admonishes herself. Wrapping her blanket around her would have been better!
But... something is suspicious. She can finally feel it now.
And along the way to Pantheon, Eina adjusts her glasses and gulps. She may be reaching out in the darkness... but there is another reason why she feels flustered.
She noticed Jackal last night.
Nay, she TRULY saw him. He looks fitter than usual. Taller, too. By a small margin, yes, but undeniably so. Eina has always been observant... and given the fact, Jackal tutored her in the ways of being an Advisor, she used to 'observe' him quite a bit.
There can only be one reason for such 'magical' changes including his personality.
She doesn't want to believe it but... biting her lower lip, she firms her heart.
"I can't believe Jackal-san would do that! How rude of him! He used to be such a stoic sweetheart—"
Cutting Misha off, Eina speaks, "Rose-san, Jackal-san must be doing well in the dungeon, right?"
Stopping to look at Eina, Rose regards the half-elf with her yellowish eyes as the significantly younger Half-elf chews her lips in frustration, "You must have smelled it, right? Why didn't you tell me?!"
Nodding slowly, the silent werewolf mutters, "I did not want to worry you."
"Wait, what?! Jackal-san? In Dungeon?!" Misha exclaims as Eina grits her teeth and clenches her fist.
"See? You're worried," Rose sighs as Eina snaps, "That's not the point! He..." her expression grows sullen, "He should know better..."
Misha huffs and pats Eina's shoulder comfortingly, "Don't worry, Eina! We'll sit him down and give him a good verbal lashing! He truly should know better!"
Forcing a smile, Eina nods at Misha before frowning and looking at Rose, "Why did he not disclose it?"
"Adventurers without falna exist until they don't. I don't know his reasons but I trust in his experience as a dungeon advisor. I tutored him as he tutored you."
It's true. Many, many desperate adventurers would plunge themselves into the first floor only and earn a living by farming Goblins until they have enough entrance fees as required by many Familias.
Eina lowers her head and hesitates before looking up and stating, "Rose-san... I would have liked to be in the know..."
"He comes to your house every morning," Rose smiles shortly, "I assumed you had some clues already but chose to keep it to yourself."
"No, I just felt things off last night when he visited me..." Eina grumbles and looks up to find Rose and Misha looking at her strangely.
Adopting a lewd and pompous smirk on her face as she sniffs and turns her nose up, Misha leers, "Heee~? So... he 'came' last night, did he? Did you let him 'come' inside?"
Blushing furiously, Eina waves her hand, "Nothing like that!"
Rose smiles seeing this and speaks, "Well, you should let him come inside sometimes and see how he cooks."
Misha and Eina are still for a moment and then the two look at each other.
"Um... Rose-san... what I meant was..." Misha explains rather openly as Rose's plump bottom lip wobbles and she shoots a sharp and disapproving glare in pinkette's direction. With a light dusting of red on her cheeks as the tip of her furry tail vibrates, Rose looks at Eina, "Disregard what I said. Don't let him cum inside. Safety is important. That's our motto."
"Pfft!" Misha stammers and giggles while Eina feels her face and ears heat up as she cries out, "It's really not like that!"
---
'Okay, so Goblins are just significantly weaker than most monsters.'
After all, when it comes to raw capabilities after Jackal reached Kobold's soft cap, he quickly accumulated enough to reach the soft cap of dungeon lizards and frog shooters. It's not even funny.
He only returned to excrete all the energy and aside from regular potions, the Dungeon Lizard's energy turned into an item and Frog Shooter's energy came out in the form of a toad-shaped pouch.
Not willing to waste any time, however, Jackal changes his axes for new ones and dives in again before sticking to the first floor.
He will tackle the war shadow after claiming his first Jack Bird!
'By now, I should have D-rank stats of Rank 1 adventurer. Only monsters like an orc, silverback, and infant dragons should push my physical capabilities further but... all these brawny beasts do not nurture my mind all that much. I hope more sly beasts like jack birds do the trick.'
Jackal quietly roams the first floor of the Dungeon.
Unlike many excited adventurers, he has the map of the first 5 floors completely etched into his memory so he would note the areas where Jackbird isn't sighted.
'Should I check the Pantry?' Jackal muses silently. Dungeon Pantry is where the monsters 'eat.' And when this source of food is used up, the area crumbles, and another pantry is formed.
In essence, the maps of the dungeon are not entirely correct and true to the actual condition of the dungeon. Sometimes an adventurer may cause a collapse, sometimes the dungeon may create another route to the lower floors. Things like this happen constantly.
So, even if experienced adventurers draw maps and sell them to the Guild, an adventurer must always keep an eye open for such changes.
*Krk*
Goblins begin to climb out from within the walls as Jackal smiles thinly and throws his axe.
He's gotten pretty good at it actually.
The first time he threw his ax, it was the handle that hit the Kobold's muzzle but now?
*Khchhh*
His axe stabs and pierces into the Goblin's chest before the poor Gobbo disappears.
Instead of taking the Giblins on, Jackal kites them and adopts to throwing his ax at them to train his aim.
He missed two times because he read the Goblin's actions incorrectly but the experience overall wasn't bad.
'Bete Loga, level 5 Werewolf...' He licks his dry lips, 'Physical strength alone won't cut it. I need more.'
For a moment, he thinks of his past life.
As an avid enjoyer of fiction, since there wasn't much else he was allowed to do, Jackal fell in love with Two Piece.
The story follows a young and fat Buffy who aspired to be the greatest villain and fails at this by unintentionally doing good deeds. Anyway, the story had a good 'power' system as in it was simple.
No lengthy chant. No magical backlash in the form of Ignis Faatus.
No, simple buffing of body, mind, and spirit by the sheer use of 'will.'
'Spirit of Armament. Spirit of Observation. And the rarest of it all, Spirit of Conquerers.'
Jackal loved it. After all, no weak-minded individual could earn that power. No 'falna' to boost them. No god or goddess to hold their hand. No. If one wanted to learn Haki... one needed to do so with sheer fucking conviction.
Jackal looks at his ax.
'Willpower, huh,' He narrows his eyes.
He could feel his 'mind' jerk slightly but other than that nothing else responds to his 'will' to motivate his mind.
Jackal's ears twitch slightly and then—
"Eeeeaaahhhhhh!"
An ear-piercing shriek echoes through the hallway.
'Do I hear one damsel in distress?' Jackal chortles and skips away with an ax in his hand.
---
"Please, Adventurer-sama," She begs, "Please, let's go! We must not chase after Jack Bird."
"Shut up!" The couple scowls with the scantily dressed woman turning around to deliver a swift slap to her.
"Agh!" She gasps and falls back as the woman spits on her head, "Did we ask you? Do your damn job and keep your trap shut!"
"Come on m, darling," the man scoffs and fawns over her, his hand coiling around her waist, "Let's follow Jack Bird. With the two of us, dealing with Goblins should be easy."
"Hmph, heard that? My dear is strong," the woman smiles proudly and kicks the short, hooded girl on top of her head, "Get moving!"
"Y-yes. Apologies for my rudeness."
The girl lifting an impossibly large bag on her tiny back squeaks and stands up while both the adventurers huff and lead ahead.
The part of two adventurers and one supporter silently make their way ahead. The sheer lack of monsters on the way makes the hooded girl chew her lip worriedly but the two adventurers don't share the same worry. Instead, they act lovey-dovey. He continues to grope her as she holds his arms and presses her breasts against him.
'All of them are the same,' her chestnut eyes gaze at them quietly, 'Arrogant, cruel, mocking...'
As they continue, the trio notices a significantly brighter source of light emanating from around the corner. But not far, in the hall ahead, they observe a gold-feathered rooster tilting his head sideways constantly as his clucking sound echoes to them.
"Jack Bird!" The woman gasps.
"Let's go!" The two rush ahead after Jack Bird when dozens of Goblins tear out from the corner as both the adventurer laugh, "Too easy!"
Jumping ahead, the man looks back, "You're on your own kid!"
Her eyes widen in abject horror as thirty-something Goblins snap their heads in her direction at once. Their pale-yellow eyes regard her silently for a moment before they screech monstrously!
Her breathing hitches and she turns away without a moment's thought, dashing away at the full speed she can muster.
She wishes she could just drop her backpack but her experience suggests otherwise.
'Adventurers are hateful beings. If I drop the loot now, they will find me later to beat me and then force me into more dungeon dives!' She grits her teeth and continues to run.
However...
She trips.
With her experience, she shouldn't trip. As a supporter who carries a massive weight on her back, she has long understood the benefit of well-placed footing and, more importantly, she is sure that there wasn't any stone where she stepped a few seconds before.
Her eyes widen and she panics before looking back. The few Goblins near her could already be seen leaping mid-air with their impish mouth wide open to reveal their sharp fangs.
Fear fills her heart, despair courses through her veins, and hatred for adventurers burns in her gaze as she involuntarily shouts in horror!
"Eeeeaaahhhhhh!"
She points at the airborne goblins and points her arm at them before launching short arrows from her crossbow strapped around her arm but her aim needs practice. Her mind needs to calm down before she can make use of all the items present to her.
But when was the last time Dungeon ever took kindness upon the beings who dare step into its massive structure?
Never.
*Chhhk*
She gasps as an ax lodges itself into the Goblin's skull and splits him to his torso!
*Vhoomph*
*Chhk*
*Chhk*
Two more axes threaten to split the Goblins in half as they disappear into a bout of wind and ash.
"It's a popular theory that dungeon feels our emotions. So, if you panic, the dungeon will try everything in its power to turn that panic into despair."
She looks back at the towering figure whose presence seemed to make the otherwise rowdy goblins cringe and flinch for a second.
He looks down at her. A unique pair of red-gold eyes meet her chestnut orbs as he smirks, "So, my dear damsel in distress, you're awfully young even for a pallum. My sincerest condolences for everything you've gone through. Here, ease up."
Feeling the slightest bit relieved, she stumbles to catch the magic stone tossed in her direction.
'Huh? This isn't magic stone...'
"The sweetest blueberry candy in the world is the one in your hands, girl. Enjoy that and... this!" He laughs in excitement as he rushes forward while picking one of the axes and throwing it ahead. Before missing a beat, that man picks up both the axes and follows after the throw and unleashes a massacre upon the Goblins by throwing axes more than delivering true strikes but...
'He is having fun...' she gasps and stares at the candy in her hand, 'Looks expensive...' Biting back the urge to taste it, to have her childish wishes fulfilled, she adopts to be mature and pockets the candy.
"Huff~! Name's Jackal. I can't keep on calling you my Damsel in Distress the entire time, right?"
Standing up quickly and dusting herself, she bobs her head and speaks softly, "My name is Lili, Jackal-sama. I am very grateful for your actions."
"Hmm, kay. Come on, I'll escort you out like your knight in shining armor should," he shrugs and doesn't give her a chance to refute as he laughs, "More like a brute in dirty leather armor."
While narrowing her eyes, Lili gasps sweetly, "Not at all, Jackal-sama... Lili is very thankful, truly."
'Of course, how can I be ungrateful to an adventurer who found himself an easy target? I wonder... if I would be left any magic stone at all...' she ponders.
"So... elephant in the room," he speaks after a while, "Or, the elephant in the dungeon... why is a supporter alone?"
Lilit bites her bottom lip.
'If I tell him I came with other adventurers, he will rob me now so he doesn't have to deal with other adventurers...'
"Lili comes here once every week to train, Jackal-sama! I want to be strong..." blushing slightly, she 'musters' in a coy tone, "Like you."
"Mm, kay," he shrugs and Lili sighs.
'As expected. Easy to deceive but all of them are equally black-hearted,' Lili scoffs in her heart as the two silently make their way up the spiraling stairs of the dungeon to exit out of Babel.
"There you are!" An extremely grating but feminine voice cuts their trip short as a familiar couple can be seen standing near the entrance leading to the dungeon.
"How careless of you!" The brown-haired man presents an oily smile as she steps forward and regards Jackal calmly, "She is our supporter, lil bro. Thanks for saving her. She separated from us and we were worried sick!"
"Oh," Jackal nods while Lilit bites her bottom lip.
'All of them rotten to their very—'
*Crunch*
Pulling the man by his collar, Jackal's skull finds itself smashing and breaking the male adventurer's nose bloody!
"Ugh—?!"
Kicking the man away, Jackal snarls, "You think I was born away! Fuck off!" He unstraps his ax and throws it at the man as it stabs into the pavement between the man's legs.
And, in her daze, Lili is sure she heard her Brute in Sloppy Leather Armor muttering under his breath, "Tch, I missed."
"What are you doing?!" The orange-haired woman screams and glares at Jackal hatefully as her man slowly sits up, suffering from an intense headache and disorientation.
"What am I doing?" Jackal unstraps his second ax as the woman flinches.
Without waiting and shocking Lili even more, he swings his ax down and...
*Riippppp*
Tears the woman's top.
"Kyaaaaaaa!"
She crouches and covers her tits and Lili hears another piece of wisdom from her savior, "The fuck are you wearing simple clothes for? Always wear armor when dungeon diving dumbass!"
Lili looks at her clothes and makes a mental note to herself.
"Hey! What's going on?" A few patrolling adventurers with Ganesha's emblem on their armor shout from a distance.
"Ah, shit! We're dipping out, Lili!" Jackal holds Lili by her backpack and ruthlessly steps on the woman's face before dashing in the male adventurer's direction and ruthlessly stepping on his balls!
"AAAAGHHHHHGHHHGGGGGG!"
The man froths and every spectator could feel his pain.
---
'Huh... what just happened?' She is still in a daze, so much so that she doesn't question being in one of the isolated spots on Daedalus street. Usually, it's in spots like these where she is robbed and beaten up if she refused to hand her spoils to others. To... her familia.
"Huff... that was amazing! Hahahahahaha!" And it's his laugh that snaps her out of her thoughts.
"Jackal-sama, that was reckless!"
It's actually early in the morning. With Jackal spending hours after midnight in the dungeon, the sun's early rays reflect on his face.
From under her hood, Lili's eyes glisten ever so slightly. His short black hair sways with a gentle gust. His golden pupils seem brighter than the sun... it's simply alight with sheer optimism. And his red irides glisten gold ever so slightly. His impish smirk makes him all the more... warm. Comforting.
And his words...
"Well, I can't just let others..."
'Please... do not say it. Adventurers are not supposed to be this kind. This warm.'
"— take advantage of you..."
'No more. You do not get to say all that. No adventurer does. If you do... I'll have to hope again that you are different.'
"— not because you're a girl. I'm beyond such temptations..."
'And when I think everything is fine. That I can trust... you will cruelly crush my heart. I'm already empty. You're too late... I have no emotions...' Her lips pucker up.
"— But you being my first damsel in distress certainly do wonder..."
'I will only break your trust. I'm stained. Even if you truly are good-hearted... I'm not. I don't deserve your trust...' Tears unconsciously begin to spill out of her eyes.
"— And it's just my luck that you're a cutie. You'll grow to break many hearts, hahaha!"
As her shoulder shudders, he sighs with a soft smile and quietly pats her head, "It's alright. Everyone's tough until that one final push. I've cried out a few times, too, so this is a judgment-free zone."
"Womanizer..." She whispers while sobbing.
"Hmm? Did 'ya say something?"
Bouncing on her feet as her hood falls back, the sun's early rays befall her glistening tears, reddened eyes, and chestnut hair.
"You're a terrible womanizer!"
'Talk about creating a judgment-free zone,' Jackal smirks and shoves the already unwrapped candy into her mouth.
"Hmfpgh?"
She gasps and then her eyes widen.
"It's sweet, right?" Jackal smiles, "You can save the blueberry one if you'd like to. But candies exist to be eaten. And looking at you, I'll humbly add that I exist to save your ass every now and then."
Gritting her jaws as her nose sours further, she collapses on her knees and throws her head back to bawl loudly.
'Talk about a sidequest being longer than the main one... what kind of damsel did I save?' Jackal shrugs with a smile and lets her vent.
Eventually, she crawls up to him and starts bawling against his stomach, and then passes out.
'Now the question is... should I carry her back to the dungeon like this and continue chasing Jack Bird or... sigh... the first and the last time I'm playing knight in shining armor.'
Consider that box checked.
***
A/N: Nah, you'll be done playing Knight when I say so!
***
Alternate Title: Knight? *Lili Looks Away in Disgust* Brute? *Excited Lili Noises*; The Dungeon's True Enemy— Suicidal Butcher!; The Rizzventurer!; New Candy Flavor— Sweet Rizz; The Thot Slayer; The Nut Crusher; The Ax Misser; Nighty Gazing; Let Jackal Come Inside Already, Eina! *Rose* No, Safety First!; Maria Stands Corrected— Syr, in fact, Did Not Believe
***
A/N: At first, I planned a long, overdrawn arc for Lili but like her, I decided against it. It should be short, sweet, and simple. So I tore the oldest page in Barney's playbook and slapped it here— The Rizz in Shining Armor!
***
Liliruca Arde
***
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