Fog of Mind

(Third Person POV)

At the same time, Oberon went to the dungeon goddess Iduun, and Artemis arrived at the gate of Orario with the escort of Finn and Bara. Sera already met Finn before; they met when he and Loki went to the Abandon World to meet the goddess Iduun because Loki and Iduun were acquaintances when they were both still in Heaven.

"Thank you, Finn, for escorting us safely to Orario."

Sera encounters Finn when they arrive at the border, which has a dense forest that is vulnerable to an ambush, so it's not a surprise that Loki sent Finn and Bara as escorts to make sure they arrive safely.

"Don't mind it, Sera; your goddess was a good friend of my goddess, and your Familia helped us and gave us shelter in your town."

I can see that somehow goddess Iduun heard our conversation and has a bitter smile. Then Finn laid his eyes on one of the goddesses beside Iduun; it was Artemis herself, the goddess of hunting. She had long blue hair and beautiful green eyes.

"Artemis- sama Is there a place you like to visit in Orario?"

Without even making eye contact, Artemis answered.

"The only reason I came here with my children was to attend the coming Denatus."

For some reason, whenever Finn asks Artemis a question, she always answers it shortly and leaves no chance to continue the conversation. Rethusa showed an apologetic smile at Finn for her goddess behavior.

"I understand. We will head to the safe house that has been prepared for the visitor. Please refrain from traveling around Orario without any notice, especially at night."

Knowing that the entourage of goddesses Iduun and Artemis is being observed by one of goddess Freya's children from the shadow alley, Allen himself acts as the eyes and ears of Freya.

----

At the top of the Babel Tower, Freya closely observes the crystal that shows a picture of a mortal that has captured her interest for more than four years. After days of observation, Freya never stops being amazed at Oberon's abilities, especially his magic.

After days of her observation, Freya realized that Oberon never stopped pursuing more power when he knew that with his magic alone he could defeat anyone easily, and yet Oberon was still training and learning hard, making Freya wonder if there must be another reason for him to become stronger other than protecting the people he loves.

"Freya-sama."

Freya can't help but feel a bit irritated when somebody tries to distract her.

"Hm, Ottar, what is it? I hope you have good reason to distract me."

Ottar can feel and hear a cold tone in his goddess's voice.

"My apologies, Lady Freya, but I must inform you that Iduun-sama has just arrived at the gates of Orario."

When Freya heard the goddess Iduun's name, she couldn't help but flinch her eyebrows a bit. Freya just remembered that she planned to have a secret meeting with Loki when Iduun arrived at Orario in preparation for the incoming Denatus. Freya wanted to make sure that no gods or goddesses found out that the mortal had just killed a god, Apophis, a month ago. For that, Freya knew she needed the help of Loki and Iduun.

Then she left her comfortable sofa.

"Ottaar,~ prepare everything you need; we will head outside."

"As your command, my lady."

Then Freya looked at a bunch of expensive clothes.

"Hm, what kind of dress should I wear to meet my old friend? ...maybe this one."

Freya knows it is important to prepare the incoming Denatus with Loki; after all, it is for the sake of protecting the mortal she loves. Freya wants Oberon close to her so she can easily approach him and make him fall for her.

After wearing her preferred dress with a brown cloak covering her body and face, she went to the chair where the crystal still had the picture of Oberon and went deeper to the 12th floor. Then Freya picked up the crystal and zoomed her eyes on Oberon.

"Fufufufu, Don't need to be worried, my dear~ I will make sure none can stop your path to becoming the strongest."

Then Feya gave a short kiss to the crystal ball, put it back in its place, and went to the place where she should meet Loki and Iduun and made the plan to make sure no one tried to punish Oberon for what Oberon had done.

----

(Oberon POV)

When I arrive at the 12th floor, I am welcomed by a dense fog that makes me able to see further than a hundred meters, sometimes less, which is extremely dangerous because you can get ambushed by monsters. The floor is deadly for beginners, plus there is a monster like Silver Back. A large monkey monster that is covered in white fur and Hard Armored is an armadillo monster that has a hard shell. One has strength that surpasses that of a level one adventurer, and the other has the highest defense, but the most dangerous monster on the 10–12 floor is called an Infant Dragon. It's a monster. A small dragon with a height of around 150 centimeters and more than four meters long

Oberon is well aware that looking down and being too careless are recipes for disaster. Thankfully, with Orstrid on his side, the monster that is a hundred meters away can be detected, so there is a low chance of an ambush from the enemy. After a half-minute of walking, I could see that the fog became thicker the further I went, so I increased my alertness to the surroundings.

Thanks to the fog, the monster that was sensed by Orstrid did not notice our presence because of a lack of vision.

("Orstrid, how many monsters can you detect in this room?")

She went silent for a bit and closed her eyes. I could feel that she expanded her radar to detect every monster in this vicinity.

("There are 34 Imp on the North, East, and West. There are strong and big monsters to the east, west, north, and 120 meters in front of us. The total number of monsters in this room was 43.")

'I want to level quickly and gather the material as much as I can... I will start getting rougher a bit.'

("Orstrid, I will erase this fog and pull all of them in our direction.")

("Understood.")

There is a spell that can dispel all of this fog around us.

{Violent Storm}

((Howl))

It was Saint Rank's wind magic. When I chanted it, a powerful wind blast blew all the fog from my surroundings, and I could see much more clearly. I could see that this floor had large, ground-close monsters that got blown to the ground, and further, one felt a strong shock wave that knocked them back to the ground.

((BOOM))

A bright light shoots through the sky and catches all the attention of the monsters just as Oberon plans to pull all of them together to finish them quickly.

((Thud))

((Thud))

'I can feel the earth shaking as they head this way.'

I can see more clearly. The landscape of the floor was not fully flat; there were bumps and dead trees everywhere. Just like Orstrid said, there are many Imp, Silver-back, and Hard-armored. The most troublesome part was that Armadillo had a hard shell that could protect that monster from a conventional weapon and low-tier magic.

'First, I need to decrease their number.'

When Oberon ventures into the dungeon, he realizes that the dungeon has rooms that are almost as big as a basketball, and some are even as large as a football field in size. So there is no need to worry about using fire magic.

("Orstrid, please create a heat shield around us.")

("As your command, Master.")

When I was sure they were all in my range, I pulled my bade [Logi] on my right wrist and chanted.

{Exodus Flame}

With Oberon's magic, he creates a bright fireball that is almost like a small version of the sun and that brightens the floor's ground and blinds the incoming monster because of the brightness. Normally, Oberon just shoots the fireball at the monster, but he needs to divide it to make sure it can attack the surrounding monsters.

{Eight Tail}

Oberon divided the fireball into eight small fireballs. With great mana control, I start to aim at the surrounding monster and start shooting the fireball, covering all directions. Just like an arrow, the fireball headed toward the monster that was still blinded by the light.

{Tail Bomb}

((Boom))

It explodes with a chain reaction and evaporates every monster that gets caught in the explosion. The monster that managed to survive was Hard Armored thanks to the hard shell.

'Heee, so that hard shell can be used like that too?'

The armadillo just bent its body and rotated forward, heading in Oberon's direction at full speed.

'Let's stop the movement first.'

Then Oberon put his right hand to the ground and chanted.

{Quagmire}

In an instant, the ground meters away turned into deep mud. When the monster touched the mud, it sank and tried to swim forward, but it was no use without Oberon. He just needed to aim at the weak spot with the earth bullet aimed at the Hard Armored, and just like that, it exploded and turned into dust.

("Master, there is one monster left.")

'Ho, it survives that fire... Maybe another armadillo?'

That was my first thought, but it was not that monster; it was far bigger at first sight. I thought it was a lizard, but I remember that there is no such lizard monster that exists on the 12th floor.

"Infant Dragon... it must be it."

I read that 'Infant Dragon' was the floor boss that roamed the 11 and 12 floors, but it rarely spawned and was considered the floor boss because it was level 2 and was considered the strongest monster on the upper floor.

((Thud))

((Thud))

((Graar!))

("Orstrid please gather the material on my left side and let me handle the right side and let me deal with that Lizard monster.")

Orstrid is well aware that without her help, her master can handle that big lizard alone. Without replying, Orstrid just bowed a little and went to the creator of the explosion of the previous magic.

Then Oberon laid his eyes on the Infant Dragon that got closer with his four legs and a large tail. It ran like a lizard if not for that lizard head. Oberon could not see any resemblance to a dragon at all because there were no wigs or dragon scales, and it had a long, lean neck.

'It's moving fast with that body..'

((Graar!))

I dodged the lizard's snapping jaws, rolling to the side and slashing at its scaly neck with my twin blades. The lizard hissed in pain, blood spilling from the wound. It whipped its tail at me in defense, but I parried it with one sword and stabbed the other into its belly.

The lizard roared and thrashed, trying to shake me off. I held on, twisting my blades deeper into its flesh. He felt its life force fading, and Oberon just needed to make the final push to end it. The lizard went limp, and then I let go of my blade after the monster was dropped weakly and went to the head to end the floor boss.

((Stab))

Then the Infant Dragon's body started to explode, and the only thing left was a magic crystal.

'I hope there is some good item drooping from the floor boss, but *sigh* maybe the next boss drops a more interesting item.'

Then I picked up the magic crystal that was dropped by the Infant Dragon. I could sense that this magic crystal's mana density was different from another monster's, which was probably the reason the prices were different for each mana crystal.

"What's happening here!?"

Surprised by the sound, Oberon turned and saw a group of adventurers. There are five of them: two mages; one is a female human; the other is a female elf; a guardman with a big shield and spearwoman and there is one cat person as a supporter.

'Eresh… Hm, their aura did not show any dark color; all of them were grey, and that elf..."

They all watched me with suspicion, but the elf with the blue cloak had blonde hair and yellow eyes. Seeing me, she bowed her head and went close to the woman who pointed her spear at me and whispered something. Then I could see a shock on the face of that woman.

Then they approached me. I knew there was no eel intent, so I put my two blades back on my wrist. I could see that the one first approaching me was the elf with blonde hair. When she got closer, I could see that she had beautiful, clear blue eyes.

"Greeting Oberon-sama I apologize for letting my friend point their weapon at Oberon-sama."

'Hm, this elf knows who I am, but it's weird that I just arrived in Orario a few days ago.'

"It's okay You don't need to apologize. Can you tell me your name?"

"Valda Fishere was my name, Oberon-sama."

"Then Valda How did you know my name? I just arrived at Orario a few days ago."

"Oberon-sama's arrival is already known by all of the elven people that reside in Orario because Oberon-sama and Riveria-sama were the only high elves that lived here in Orario, so as the nobles of the elven kingdom, it is normal for us to know Oberon-sama's arrival."

"I see. Can you introduce your friend to me?"

"Gladly Oberon-sama."

Then she introduced me to each one of them. From the start, they were all from the Una Familia, led by the goddess Una. Valda told me that Alicia and she had the same birthplace, but they both went their separate ways. Valda was the vice-captain of Una Familia, and the spearwoman was the captain of Familia. Her name was Kara; she had brown hair and brown eyes, and I thought the one carrying a shield was a man because of the helmet. Her name was Valeria; she was not only carrying a shield but a long spear as her weapon, and the mage's name was Rina; she had dark blue hair. The last one was their group supporter; she was a cat person. Her name was Cyo, and she had orange hair that matched her tail color and her cat ears.

'They all look so young.'

"Valda already knows my name, but I will introduce myself. My name is Oberon Aendryr Wishe, a high elf, and there is my partner, whom I had. Her name is Orstrid. Now gather the material; she will be back soon. I was a part of the Loki Familia. I am happy to make an acquaintance. Hm, Kara, what's wrong?"

Valda, seeing her friend's face, instantly knows what's going on and smacks her on the head.

"*ack* Valda, why?"

"I am sorry my hand was slipping."

Seeing the shenanigans, the group can't help but release a heavy sigh.

"Oberon-san."

"Oberon is enough after all; I was fifteen years old. I believe you all have many questions, but we are in the wrong place. After I finish gathering all the material, we should head to the safe zone where we can talk freely."

It looks like Kara and others do not disagree with my reasoning, so I start heading to the crater that I created using my magic. When I go close, the size of the crater is just like an artillery shell getting dropped here. It did not take long to gather all the material at my speed. When I got back to their group, I could see that Orstrid was already waiting for me.

"Thank you for the hard work, Orstrid. Now shall we continue?"

----

"Hemp… Hemp woah, Oberon-sama It's delicious! I can't believe rice, potatoes, and dark broth together can be this delicious!"

Not only was Valda surprised by how delicious the curry that I cooked was, but all of the group thought the same. I am right now in the safe zone on the 12th floor. After finishing the dish, I could see that everyone was in a good mood. Along the way, they did try to ask me some questions, but I told them it was too dangerous to drop our guard at the danger zone, and of course, they all agreed.

"I am sorry, I will start to ask the first question. After you answer my question, I will do the same and answer your question. Along the way, I expect not to meet many adventurers at this time; I believe it is already dark. There is a danger of the Evilus group becoming more active at times like this."

Valda looked at her captain and probably asked her permission to answer my question.

"We heard from the rumors that were being spread that the Evilus group was just killed at the dungeon by one of the Loki Familia, so our goddess and captain decided to try to level up and gather some money for our Familia… "

'Hm, the atmosphere is changing, and it's a pretty cliche story.'

"Me, Captain, and the others are well aware that we need to become stronger because there is a chance soon a war will be waged by the Evilus... Our goddess Una-sama picked up most of the members from the orphanage. We all want to protect her, and for that, we need to become stronger."

'I did hear that it's a rare case of a mortal willing to kill a god... They are maybe crazier than I thought.'

"I see. Now you can ask me a question."

I can see that Valda is a bit hesitant to ask the question that is nagging at her mind.

"Oberon… did you the one who caused the explosion and the clearing of the fog?"

Kara did see that Valda was hesitant to ask about the cause of the explosion, which there was a high chance was one of my magics. They are probably rushing to find the source of the explosion; maybe they are thinking there is a fight.

"Yes, I did clear the fog, and I'm the one responsible for the explosion. I can't tell what magic it is, though."

Kara knows that whatever magic it is, it is really powerful from the clear fog from the floor, eight large craters, the shock wave, and multiple explosion sounds. At first, Kara and others are reluctant to approach the source of the explosion, but she knows there is a chance that there is someone who needs help.

"I am glad that Oberon-sama was not hurt. If I may know where Oberon-sama is heading?" 

"I was heading to Riviria; how about you all? If you like, we can head there together if you all heading th-."

"SURE! WE CAN TEAM UP!"

I was a bit surprised that Kara agreed with my advice so quickly. I can see that somehow Kara is fired up, and Valda and the others can't help but release a heavy sigh. After all the curry, all the Una Familia were in their tent, and I assured them my magic could protect them and alert them if there was a monster heading this way.

I keep myself awake to inspect our route again and the monster that we encounter after that. I open the bag that Orstrid carried and calculate the items we gathered. The harvest is pretty big. I gathered magic stones, and other dropped items from the 1–12 floors. I did not have the chance to encounter the rarest monster on the first floor; it was called Jack Bird, and it said that the egg dropped by that monster could be sold for 1 million Valis.

I did know that Orstrid was not engaged with the enemy as much as I was because of her role as a supporter, but that doesn't mean that she wasn't involved in the fight. Orstrid only used magic to support me in the fight to make sure that she could up her other stat. I give her a Garivity bracelet to restrain her movement and make it far heavier than a normal one, all to increase her endurance and strength stats.

"Oberon-sama."

"Valda, you can't sleep?"

"I am sorry, Oberon-sama, there is something I want to talk about."

'Hm, in a time like this? Maybe it's important.'

"Sure." 

"Thank you, Oberon-sama. First, I apologize for my captain's behavior. She was most likely to have an interest in Oberon-sama because"

I can see that Valda was blushing a bit.

"No female, elf, or other race, can resist the high elf's beautiful looks."

"I-I see."

I can help to stutter in my words a bit. Mother did tell me that high elves are attractive to their opposite gender. I didn't notice too much because I spent my time on research and training rather than thinking about it. Then Valda sat beside me; of course, she kept some distance.

"I still can't believe I had the chance to meet the son of Levos-sama and Viska-sama."

"So you did meet my parents?"

"Yes, when Rakkia tried to invade Fanache, your father and mother took part to protect our home. Because our location is right up north as a buffer to Royal Alf Forest, it's important to protect and keep it safe."

'If I remember right, Fanache, or, as people call it, White Ice Forest because it was the northern location of the Elven Kingdom, was always being attacked by Rakkia. I believe they use a magic weapon to burn down the forest.'

"So I can recognize Oberon-sama from the bright red eyes and gold-like silk of Oberon-sama's hair... not only Oberon-sama's looks that people are known for, but your achievements as well... No wonder King Larfal chose Oberon-sama as Riveria-sama's fiancée."

When I heard the word fiance, I couldn't help but feel like getting struck by lightning.

'What I never heard before was that King Larfal and my parents did not say a word about this, and Riveria did not even mention anything about this either.'

"Valda, who told you that Riveria was my fiance?"

"From the rumor that on day one Oberon-sama arrived, Riveria came in person to meet and invite Oberon-sama to Loki Familia, on the next day there is a sight of Oberon-sama and Riveria-sama having a date, and the next day walking together with a child. So everyone was certain that Oberon-sama was indeed Riveria-sama's fiance."

'I was careless... What will happen to me if this rumor reaches Riveria's ear? Wait, she did tell me that she does not mind at all about the rumor, but what about King Larfal? ..'

Seeing my expression of panic all over my face, Valda could not help but think that she had made a tremendous mistake. Oberon did notice the change in Valda's expression.

"You are both right and wrong. Valda I indeed had a great relationship with Riveria, but not at that stage yet. King Larfal and my parents told me there was a chance for me to marry Riveria, but I never wanted to pursue it. I left Riveria to make her own choice. When I interacted with her, I could see that she was a smart woman, so she was well qualified to choose her future husband. She must do so because whoever marries her will become the next ruler of our people. In other words, the man will deter our people's future."

Hearing the long explanation, Valda was amazed at the way I thought, and she was well aware that Oberon was still a 15-year-old boy who had just left her home for the outside world.

"I think I was right. Oberon-sama will become the future husband of Riveria-sama. Our people would think the same as I did after knowing how mature and humble Oberon-sama is. Most of the elves I meet just go to the outside world; they always have that look of an arrogant person. When I meet Oberon-sama, there is no hateful or resentful gaze toward my Familia member, just like Riveria-sama. You both were a perfect match."

Then she stood up and looked into my eyes.

"I am serious about what I said, Oberon-sama, and good night."

She bows and heads to their tent. I can't help but feel a bit of a headache. I never knew that the rumor was spreading so quickly and would most likely reach my parents and King Larfal's ears. 

I can't deny that Riveria was a beautiful woman, and when I was beside her, it made me remember the time I was beside Sylphy, Roxy, and Eris. I can't help but chuckle a bit. Riveria somehow had the same hair color and kindness as Sylphy, Roxy's genius in magic, and the fear that I felt when she was angry was almost the same chill that I felt when Eris was angry.

"Obaron-sama, you look so happy."

"Am I?"

"Yes, and I am glad."

I can see that Orstrid was smiling a bit.

"I think you are right. For that, we need to make sure that nothing bad happens tomorrow. Will you help me, Orstrid?"

She bowed and replied.

"Yes I will, Oberon-sama."