Chapter 7: Getting Famous

I enter the dungeon once again today and this time I plan on staying inside for at least two weeks. I managed to convince Hephaestus to let me go by promising to be more careful this time. I've stocked up on potions and rations using the money I earned last time and as for sleep, I can go two weeks without it. A beneficial side effect from staying up for a year straight.

I'll be exploring the floors I've been through to get to know them better since I realized I never saw a lot of the monsters Tsubaki told me about. I was too much in a rush last time which is also why I forgot to pick up the magic stones and drop items..

I somehow never ended up encountering Kobolds until the fourth floor even though they also appear on the first two. I shake my head an begin looking around the first floor. I won't go down until I find them. Since the same monsters appear on the eighth floor onward but much stronger, it will be better to get used to their movement now to make my life easier later. After searching around for about fifteen minutes, I finally find some. I truly did go too fast last time.

I spend some time fighting the Kobolds and Goblins on the first floor, mostly dodging and figuring out the movement they seem to prefer. After I'm satisfied, I move on to the second floor. Here, there is supposed to be another monster called a Dungeon Lizard. It's apparently a brown quadrupedal lizard monster with sucker disks on it's feet. I don't think I went by any since they apparently like to stick to walls and ceilings and ambush people.

I spend some time walking around while making sure to keep and eye upwards for the Dungeon Lizards and sure enough, after a bit, I see some. I really should have remembered what Tsubaki told me last time. I'm definitely going to thank her when I get back.

One of the Dungeon Lizards jump down at me and I swing Gideon to intercept it, killing it in mid-air. The others also move to attack me and I spend some time dodging them before killing them as I also want to learn their movements. Once I feel like I've learned enough I move on to the third floor.

I don't encounter anything new on this floor. Just more Goblins, Kobolds, and Dungeon Lizards but I don't want rush too much and it would be good to get my stats up a bit more. My goal is to have an even bigger increase in stats this time than before. My Agility didn't go up that much before but with all the dodging I'm doing it should this time.

My Dexterity also didn't go up that much last time but I can solve later I'm sure. Perhaps I'll find someway to do it here in the dungeon, no matter how unlikely it seems. I repeat the process once more on the fourth floor before moving on the the fifth. Here is where I start getting very confused.

There are no Killer Ants. . . just more of the same from the previous floors. Was there perhaps an event similar to what happened to bell with the Minotaur? Perhaps someone led them up here while running from them. From what Tsubaki told me, they should only start appearing on the seventh floor. . . I really should have noticed this last time but I was so overconfident it's not even funny. At least now I know why I was able to kill the War Shadows more easily than the Killer Ants with the shockwave.

I spend some time on the fifth floor before moving on. I now find myself back back on the sixth floor. I want to give the War Shadows another shot since last time was not as great as I would have liked it to be. Even though I killed them all one of them managed to get a decent hit in. I don't want to keep going down floors until I can properly fight them.

As I'm walking, I notice a group of adventurers up ahead. there are five of them. A Pallum, a Dwarf, and three Humans. They seem to be walking towards a group of War Shadows so I'll watch them fight to learn more about them.

As they approach the War Shadows, I watch intently to learn everything I can to help me fight them better, only to see them walk into the area of the group of War Shadows calmly. Are they high level Adventurers? Then maybe this'll be a pretty one sided fight then. They must be passing through, either going to or returning from the lower floors.

As I think that, one of the War Shadows rushes into the group and instantly kills one of the Humans. I freeze in horror at what I witness. During my shock one of the other Humans is killed and the last one is severely injured. I get over my shock as best as I can and run towards the group as quickly as possible. With my now increased stats I'm quite a bit faster than before so I make it to the group before anything else happens and swing Gideon into the War Shadow attacking the group, killing it instantly.

"Run!" I yell at them and the dwarf grabs the injured Human and starts going with the Pallum running alongside them. The other War Shadows rush out and I have to do my best to avoid getting hit by them while picking a few off. I'm doing much better than before but I feel that I'll get overwhelmed soon if it keeps going like this but luckily, the other adventurers are far enough now.

I slam Gideon into the ground and the shockwave of {Divine Flame} spreads, killing all of the War Shadows. Once it's all over, I try to think about what just happened. Why did they walk towards the War Shadows if they couldn't handle them? Maybe. . . they didn't know they were there? I rack my brain for answers when I remember what Tsubaki told me about them.

War Shadows. . . Known as 'Newbie Killers' because. . . because. . . SHIT! They hide in the dark and ambush you! Then why can I see them perfectly clearly? Is it because of the God Eyes form me being a Demi-God? That would make sense. If I had known, I could have saved the two Humans that just died. I feel sick to my stomach. Even though I know it's not, it feels like it's my fault they died.

I cant focus on that now. . . Maybe when I get out I'll ask around at the Guild for the three that escaped, to make sure that they're safe. It's the least I can do. I take a deep breath to compose myself before I keep going through the sixth floor. Now with my increased stats, killing the War Shadows is much easier. I will admit though, I may have spent a bit too long killing War Shadows out of frustration.

Aside from the War Shadows, Frog Shooters also appear on this floor. I didn't encounter them last time since I left after fighting the first group of War Shadows but I find them this time. They're bipedal frogs with a single large eye that attack by shooting out their long tongue. I spend a bit longer than usual fighting them since I'm sure it will do wonders for my Agility. I also got a little inspiration from them.

What if I could manipulate {Divine Flame} to be similar to their tongue? Is what I ask myself. The result? A whip made of golden flames. The whip is very long, giving me a range of about twenty meters, and it leaves long gashes with remnant flames sticking around to burn them even further.

All in all, it's a pretty brutal and cruel method of killing. I probably won't use this against other adventures unless they really piss me off. I will however be using it on the monsters here since using a whip will greatly help me increase my Dexterity. I knew I would solve that particular problem eventually but not this soon.

Eventually though, I make it to the seventh floor. Here, three new monsters start appearing. Purple Moth, Needle Rabbit, and Blue Papilio. Though the Blue Papilios rarely appear. The first one I encounter is the Needle Rabbits. They're cute little rabbits with a single yellow horn on their heads. Their appearance is the only cute thing about them though. The little shits are fast and ruthless.

I realize this as soon as I see one cover the sixty or so meter distance between me and it in about three to four seconds. I turn my body in time to dodge but it has already landed and is jumping towards me again. It strikes my chest where my armor protects me and I kill it by backing up a bit and swinging Gideon. At least they die in one hit.

I have to rely on my armor more than dodging, due to their speed but I manage to handle them pretty well since they cant take hits. I should avoid large groups of them though or else I'll get overwhelmed. After fighting a few small groups of Needle Rabbits, I encounter the Purple Moths. These guys I should be more careful with due to the poisonous powder they spread.

I slowly approach the group of three and rush in once I feel I'm close enough. I swing Gideon and kill one before jumping back in time to avoid the two clouds of poison that appear from the other two. Now I cant approach them again but luckily I recently got a solution to this problem.

I grin as I hold Gideon in my right hand and in my left, a golden flame whip appears. I swing it twice and get a good hit on each one. They fall and hit the ground before slowly burning to death. I wait a while for the poison to disappear and once it does, I go and get the monster stones from them. I also got a Purple Moth Wing from the first group.

I spend a bit of time killing them and soon run into a group of Killer Ants, on the right floor this time. Thankfully I have experience fighting them so I handle them no problem and spend about an hour or so hunting monsters on this floor before moving on.

The time I spend on floors eight and nine are. . . difficult. There are no more Purple Moths, which is good but Goblins and Kobolds make a comeback here. The difference being that they're stronger. . . much stronger. Aside from them, the Needle Rabbits and Killer Ants are on these floors as well and they're not making my life any easier. I do eventually find the entrance to floor ten but I decide it's best that I don't go down there at my current level.

Shaking my head as I stare at the entrance. I stop and turn around before proceeding back through the ninth floor to keep killing. I've made it as far as I can go this time so lets stay here and kill monsters for a while. . .

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"You said you got these from a new shop in Babel?" I ask Ais as she watches me examine the five weapons she laid out in front of me. Aside from the two of us Finn, Gareth, and Riveria are also here.

"Yes, from a place called 'Little Hammer Shop'." she says making me laugh.

"What a cute name." I say.

"These weapons are indeed quite good. The materials were made to go beyond what should be possible of them. For example, even though this rapier is made of Light Metal, It's quality is not that far behind a sword made of Dir Adamantite. If these are their mass produced weapons I wonder how their made-to-order weapons are." Gareth says and I see Ais nod in agreement.

"That is what I thought as well, that's why I brought them here." she happily says with a small smile. I can see she's proud of herself for this. This cutie. . .

I shake my head with a smile as I turn my attention back to the weapons. As a god, I can see things others can't so while they don't notice it, I can see the divinity flowing off of the blades. It's only a small amount, nothing that will enhance the blade. It's more like left over residue from the one who made them.

What's more important is that I can recognize the divinity. It's that Demi-God brat that was with Hephaestus at the Hostess of Fertility. It seems she managed to find a really good child this time.

"All of you follow me." I say as I get up and move towards the door of my office.

"Where are we going?" Finn asks and I grin in response.

"To pay Hephaestus a visit."

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"Hey, did you hear about that new shop in Babel?"

"Yeah, the weapons there are amazing even though there are only five different kinds."

"Not only that, they're relatively cheap for their quality."

"That's because there's a whole bunch of them. They're not made to fit someone specific."

"Look, that guy has one. Fragrant Olive I think it was called"

"Damn! I'm so jealous, that sword looks so cool. I can't afford it now but I'm definitely going to save up for one."

"Pretty much Everyone will have one by the time your poor ass manages to do that!"

"Hey! That's not funny! Stop laughing."

I hear all these things being said around me as I walk down the street towards the Hostess of Fertility.

Hmmmm. . . These swords. . . They have divinity. That's interesting, even Hephaestus can't leave her divinity in the weapons she makes since her Arcanum is restricted. However, I just so happen to remember a cute little golden rose who can.

The sight of his soul still makes me shiver just remembering it. That bright golden inferno. . . I was so overwhelmed by heat I almost lost control then and there. I want that boy badly. An actual Demi-God. . . Ooooohhh, I'm getting excited just thinking about ravishing him.

From what Ottar had told me, he has been in the dungeon for about a week now. I look forward to his progress, I want him to be strong when I make him mine. Maybe I should pay Hephaestus a visit to see if I can't find anything out about him.

Yes. . . I will find out everything about you, my little Golden Rose.

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- A/N: Due to college and my mother being admitted to the hospital right now, I won't be able to post 2 chapters a day like I originally wanted to. I'll still try my best to post at least one chapter a day but I may miss some days from time to time. Once my mother gets better I'll be able to post a little more often but I'll still be restricted sometimes because of school.