Orario's Gate to the Ocean, Melen!

There was a slight mistake with the last chapter where Silver said he would leave at night, that was an edit from me that wasn't meant to be there.

Enjoy!

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/Many hours later…/

/Blink.../

"Yawn..."

... It's time.

'As the sun dawned once more, Silver woke up to yet another full day of work.'

'Like the day before, he spent his morning helping everyone with all kinds of things while also helping with the training of the newcomers.'

'By the time he was done, it was one hour before lunchtime, or around 11 Am.'

'So while the others were distracted doing their own things, Silver left the Manor without anyone noticing, making his way to the center of Orario.'

…

/A few minutes later.../

"..."

There's no better way to say goodbye than like this.

'Right beneath Babel, Silver looked up towards the gargantuan tower, smiling slightly as he thought of everything he did to be here.'

'The tower seemed to shine from this angle, or maybe it was the light of the sun reflecting on the windows... Or something else...'

Quite the long journey, though it seems things are only beginning.

'But without getting any further emotional, he closed his eyes, vanishing amidst the crowd.'

/Shua!.../

/CAW!/

'The next moment, Silver reappeared atop Babel, looking at the world beneath him with a calm and relaxed gaze.'

/Flap flap flap!/

'His sudden appearance startled many birds, making them fly away as they flapped their wings desperately.'

"I always wanted to be here." He said as he blocked the sun with his hand

The topmost 'floor' of Babel, it's roof. 

Getting here is usually impossible, as Babel only has 50 floors people can visit on their own, though even that is hard since the last topmost floors are private rooms owned by many Gods and Rich people.

Atop that, there's the Denatus room, and that is the last floor you can go to via the elevator.

To get here, you either use the locked flight of stairs or go through the outside like I did.

Good luck climbing the tower though...

"I can understand why people romanticize Babel... It's quite the sight." 

'The city beneath went far into the distance, its tall walls casting shadows over the land beyond it.'

'He could hear the very faint murmurs of people talking in the busy streets and the chaotic sounds of the bustling city...'

1000 years of development huh…

"I can't see Melen from here…" Silver mumbled to himself as he looked to the West

"... On the North, there's the Beol Mountain range and a few other settlements, while on the South, East, and West I can see more of the same, farming plots and Villages."

"Nothing else."

Even then, those are at the very edge of my vision, likely a few Km away.

Most of those Villages are likely owned or under the influence of the Demeter Familia, in fact, everything directly outside of Orario that is related to farming should be owned by them.

There's no way the Guild would allow anyone to build anything so close to Orario, so it has to be hers, or another farming Familia that was given such rights... Though right now I don't recall any.

I've memorized the emblems of many Familias and the names of their Gods but going as far as knowing what they do wasn't something I did, albeit I should.

Further than their scope would be normal run-of-the-mill Villages like mine, albeit that was further away... Quite far in fact.

The closer you are to Orario the more of these Villages you'll see, since being close to Orario is in itself a form of protection.

My Village was to the North, a bit to the East too, somewhere to the Northern foot of the Beol Mountains but not that close to it either.

It was a rather dangerous place now that I think about it.

It would take a month on foot to reach Orario from there, maybe less depending on how much ground you cover every day.

It took me a week to reach Orario but I went directly through the Beol mountains using the old and 'abandoned' passageways together with the help of my Plasmids to pretty much glide through the path...

How nostalgic.

Though now that I think about it, I should've gone for the standard path...

There's a reason those roads are mostly neglected.

In the Ancient past, when the Dungeon was still unsealed, when monsters rushed everywhere, with beasts from the Deep Floors and beyond prowling the lands, many of them ended up making their way there, and even today, many still live amidst the mountains' many nooks and crannies.

With my Grandparents, that wasn't really a problem, but if you think about it, for a normal person, being able to walk a few Km down the road and meet with an Orc isn't exactly a comforting thought to have at the back of their minds. 

I mean, we even killed a Wyvern a few years ago… A very rare occurrence but one that could lead a city to destruction.

Although a Wyvern should still be within the range of siege weapons to be defeated, it's not really easy to hit a flying Wyvern with a Balista, much less when it's raining down fire at it.

People who can defeat a Wyvern with a sword out there are like the Heroes of Folk tales, there should be quite a lot of them out there...

And a Wyvern is just a Level 2 monster, what to say of creatures like the Valgang Dragons all the way on the 58th floor?

There was a time when those creatures and stronger ones habituated the surface, some still do.

Not many remember Nidhogg, the strongest beast before the three Great monsters.

And who's to say the Legendary beasts that fell under the might of ancient Heroes, their stories never recorded...

Are those monsters still down there?

... Anyway, that's off-topic.

"... I'll be going back, soon enough." Silver whispered as he looked away from the North, focusing instead on the SouthWest

'He looked at a massive river that was several hundred meters wides, going across the lands and into the distance, there were many boats moving around, big and small, some fishing, others just transporting goods...'

If I follow the river, I'll reach Melen eventually, though that'll take some time.

Hum…

'Silver pondered for a few moments before he decided to just reach Melen as fast as possible, he had people waiting for him.'

/Vanish!/

'So without anything else to say, the skin on his right hand started to disintegrate as it shook with an invisible power.'

'And the moment he let go of that building power, he vanished, reappearing a few Kilometers away before vanishing once more.'

'With each jump covering a few Km at a time, in no time at all, Silver found himself facing a large port city built around a massive lake.'

/Fwoosh…/

/Sniff.../

"Ahh… The smell of the Ocean." Silver said as he held his hair as the wind brushed past it

Once again... How nostalgic.

/Chuckle.../

"Though... In all honestly... I think I prefer living above it." He said with a smirk as he started walking, making the rest of the way on foot

…

/Meanwhile…/

'In a room full of people…'

"... Is it over already? I can't stand this fishy smell anymore…" A Chienthrope girl said as she pinched her nose with a tired and disgusted expression

(Image?)

'Due to being a beast person, she possessed extreme senses, causing her to be constantly sniffing around even the faintest of scents, and in a coastal city whose entire commerce is based around fishing…'

'The stink can get quite overwhelming, it was literally building on her clothes.'

At this rate I'll never be able to clear the smell off my fur...

"Just wait a few more days Lulune, Hermes-Sama should be wrapping things up soon, given how overworked Asfi has been recently." A Waretiger replied from the side with his arms crossed as he sat on a chair by the wall

(Image?)

/Clack clack clack…/

"... And… A five and a six?! OH BOY! You know what's up!! I win." A man with a sharp face and nose exclaimed as he threw a pair of dice on the ground

(Image?)

"WHAT?! AGAIN?!"

"No way… You're cheating Keaks! Give me back my Valis!" A small blond Pallum said as he punched the Human's shoulder

(Image?)

"Kekeke! Weren't you the one that wanted to play a little as we waited? Why are you bitching now all of a sudden? You saw the dice, if you have any complaints just say it!"

"Urg…"

"You two…" An Elven girl said as she shook her head

(Image?)

"Pock, are you really still playing with Deaks? Don't you know those dice of his are weighted down?" Lulune said as she turned her head to look at the two

"Ah? So that's how you cheated!" Pock said as he got up from the ground, pointing at Keaks

"TSK! No refunds!" Keaks protested as he grabbed his dice and the money

"You!"

/Jump!/

'The Palum jumped after the Human, and a tug of war started.'

"You two… This isn't the place not the time to fight…" Said the Elven girl as she touched her own head with a helpless expression

"Just leave those two dumbasses alone Laulau, this always happens, we know how it ends anyway." Another Palum with blond hair said with a shrug as she shook her head

(Image?)

'She was unusually similar to the other Palum, a twin?'

"My name's not... Sigh, Falgar…" The elf said as she turned to the weretiger, asking for his help since he was the highest authority here right now

"... Sigh. Hey you two, stop what you're doing." Falgar said as he turned to the two men tugging on the ground

"Stay out of this cat! This is between this monkey and I!" The Palum said rudely as he tried to pull a sac of coins from Keaks' waist

"Ha! Quite courageous are you! As if that'll make ya any taller!" Keaks teased as he laughed loudly

'Due to the difference in their heights, Keaks could easily just keep the little Palum away with one arm, it was quite comedic to the little guy jump around.'

"YOU!..."

/TUG!.../

"See?... Even if I talk they won't stop, so just sit down and wait for the Captain to come back, she'll resolve it if they haven't stopped by then." Falgar said as he pulled the Elven girl's scarf, shaking his head in the process

"..."

'The elven girl turned to the others but they all shook their heads as well, they all seemed to be ignoring her, so she eventually turned to another Elf, someone with a ranger's hat who was resting in the corner of the room.'

(Image?)

"I have no energy to stop them, you're free to try." He replied with a shrug without even waiting for her to say anything as he pulled his hat down

"I... I give up." She said as she rested her head on the table

/Knock knock!/

""!""

'Suddenly, someone knocked on the door of the room they were currently in, leading to all of them stopping what they were doing as their eyes sharpened.'

'Even Keaks and Pock stopped their tug of war as their eyes sharpened as a momentary truce was built between the two men.'

'They had all been warned that their current mission was a dangerous one and that they should keep their guards up at all times…'

'And they did, for several days at that, no wonder they were all so tired.'

/Knock knock…/

/SLAM!/

""?!""

'Just as one of them was about to check who it was, the doors were suddenly flung open as Asfi appeared in a sour mood, walking through the room without saying anything, almost kicking the ground with each of her steps…'

/GAZE!!/

""EEK!""

'She momentarily looked at Pock and Keaks who immediately stiffened, with the latter giving Pock a small bag of coins without even having the gal to face her.'

"..."

/SLAM!/

'Without saying anything, Asfi stormed through them all as she moved to the second floor, likely to change clothes or to finally rest… Maybe both.'

""...""

'An angry and tired Asfi... Their worst nightmare.'

'No one said anything at all despite the fact she broke their number 1 rule of using the secret code…'

'They just looked at each other in silence, no one wished to be the one to invoke her wrath, so they all just stood silent as they saw the next person enter the room.'

"Cough… We're back… Everyone." Hermes said with a wave of his hands as he closed the door behind him

She's so scary... I'll give her a one month vacation when we're back, otherwise I think she'll pull my hair and turn it into a wig...

Worse, she'll call that guy to do it for her!

He'd do it for free at that, I'm certain of it...

"Please, bring me some good news." Lulune said as she looked at Hermes with a tired expression

"Haha… We've pretty much finished our investigations… We just need to set a bait now to get a bit of proper solid proof for the Guild, you know how it is." Hermes said with a small smile as he looked at everyone in the room

"Arg! So we're staying here for longer… Great."

"Don't be so down Lulune-Chan! We're being paid big figures for this, remember? This much..." Hermes asked as he raised his hands exaggeratedly in the air

"Yeah… We're being paid…" She said as she exhaled deeply

"Hermes-Sama, what about…" Falgar said as he turned to where Asfi walked

"Oh… We still have to deal with that too… But don't worry, cavalry is on the way." Hermes replied with a thin smile as he walked past everyone

"Everyone, if things go well we're leaving Melen tomorrow, so rest well and prepare."

"If you need me I'll be in the Office as always~ Bye!" Hermes said as he walked upstairs, vanishing as quickly as he arrived

""...""

/THUD!/

"Sigh... He's always like this, comes and goes." Lulune said as she banged her head on the table

"Don't be like that, once Asfi rests, she'll explain everything to us, for now, we just need to wait." Falgar replied as he also got up, ready to go to his own room and take a rest also 

"But we've been waiting for days! Even if we're to stay here then at least…"

/Knock knock…/

""...""

'Interrupting her words, someone knocked on the door once more, causing them to go completely silent.'

""....""

'They waited and waited, but the keywords weren't spoken, causing them to go stiff...'

/Grab... Unsheath.../

'They all grabbed their weapons, preparing for a clash.'

/Creak.../

'Finally, the door was opened from the outside...'

/FWOOSH!/

'And they all sprung into action!'

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Notes

I didn't say this last chapter, but I hoped you all had a nice weekend, let's resume the chapters as per normal.

Zero Fate will definitely come, I swear!

(Fingers crossed...)