Chapter 11

LILI POV, SAME DAY, AFTERNOON:

Lili found herself sitting on a brick planter in Central Park, beneath the shade of a wide-leaf tree. As she sat there, a sturdy dwarf with brown hair tied back by a blue ribbon and wearing white horned armor made of bone caught her attention. A broken horn adorned his helmet, and a large jet-black battleaxe wrapped in bandages protruded from behind him. He was engaged in conversation with a chienthrope, a dog-like person with orange hair, who carried a hefty brown backpack containing various tools, including a pickaxe.

Suddenly, a black-robed figure with a staff got closer to them and the dwarf started to greet him while laughing and elbowing the dog person. They seemed to be a party, as they soon set off together, heading towards Babel.

Lili couldn't help but feel a twinge of annoyance at the sight of adventurers.

Adventurers… acting so happy at first, and then exploiting you later…

With a discontented click of her tongue, she shifted her gaze towards Babel, the towering white marble structure adorned with extravagant decorations. She couldn't help but imagine the wealthy gods peering down at her from the upper levels, from the 20th floor and beyond. To them, she must appear as small and insignificant as an ant.

However, her thoughts were abruptly interrupted as a shadow fell over her. The shadow emanated from a black umbrella embellished with red lines, and beneath it stood a stunning girl with silky silver hair and captivating red eyes—it was Shalltear.

"Hi hi!" Shalltear greeted with a bright smile, catching Lili off guard.

Time to put my normal act with adventurers…

Lili quickly composed herself, slipping into her usual act when dealing with adventurers. "Oh! It's Miss Shalltear!" she exclaimed, feigning happiness.

"Did you wait too long?" Shalltear inquired.

An adventurer… showing concern to me? Ha ha, don't make me laugh

Lili replied, maintaining her pretense, "Not at all, Miss Shalltear. Lili didn't wait long. Lili was just enjoying the scenery."

"Are you ready to go to the Dungeon Lili? Oh, wait! Preparations first," Shalltear said, her expression suggesting deep contemplation. "Do you want to stick to support, or would you like to join in the fighting as well? …And we should be professional and divide the loot beforehand."

Lili was taken aback by Shalltear's consideration and the fact that an adventurer was actually taking her desires into account.

That's a first…

"Lili has a Little Ballista made by the Goibniu Familia, so she can support you. But Lili alone is so useless in a fight that it's embarrassing," she replied, displaying the small ballista in her right hand.

"Since today is a trial, we can simply split the money after we return from the Dungeon. If you give Lili thirty percent, Lili will be overjoyed!" she continued.

"Hmm... I was thinking of giving you mostly the magic stones and keeping the drops for myself. Would that be okay?" Shalltear pondered.

Lili nodded in agreement, but internally, she couldn't help but be suspicious. She wondered if Shalltear had a better place to sell the drops at a higher value, which is why she wanted them.

Lili's gaze shifted towards Shalltear's high-quality dress and her umbrella. "Does Miss Shalltear fight with her... umbrella?" she asked, tilting her head in curiosity.

Shalltear closed her umbrella and tied it with a red ribbon. She then lowered it, revealing a golden pointed head. "It's tougher and more deadly than it looks," she replied confidently.

o-O-o

Lili and Shalltear found themselves on the Upper Levels of the dungeon, where moss covered the brown-colored walls and the ground below resembled a short grass plain. The intense phosphorescent light from above bore a resemblance to sunlight.

Lili observed as Shalltear effortlessly dispatched the monsters within the dungeon. She couldn't help but think that Shalltear was far stronger than a level 2 adventurer. She felt incredibly lucky to have stumbled upon a high-class adventure and accepted her support.

Using her knife, Lili skillfully opened up a needle rabbit and extracted its magic stone. Thoughts raced through her mind as she wondered.

What is a stronger than level two adventurer doing alone? What about her Familia?

These questions left Lili feeling wary of Shalltear.

Then Shalltear turned around to face Lili and asked, "Hey Lili, what do you say about going to the middle levels?"

Lili, who was familiar with the Dungeon up to the eleventh level but had never ventured beyond that, shook her head and frowned. "Lili doesn't think it's a good idea... Lili hasn't been there before, and Lili heard that you need preparations to protect against the fire from hellhounds," she replied, expressing her concerns.

Shalltear raised her hand to her chin, pondered for a moment, and then suddenly exclaimed, "Oh!" She seemed to have an idea.

o-O-o

Adventurers cannot be trusted, that is a slogan that had been imprinted deeply in Lili's mind.

Because all adventurers are the same, they use you and exploit you.

However, Shalltear was different. She was... nuts.

Lili found herself in the corner of a room in the dungeon, breathing heavily as she contemplated the craziness of the adventurer she was supporting. Shalltear had come up with the idea of cutting the lower bodies of multiple Killer Ants to keep them alive and attract more ants. The plan had spiraled out of control, resulting in a massive invasion of ants into the room.

For the past hour, Shalltear had been engaged in a relentless battle against the never-ending Pass Parade of Killer Ants. The piles of dead bodies continued to grow, and Lili struggled to keep up with the loot.

With her ragged breath, Lili moved from one dead Killer Ant to another, skillfully extracting the magic stones from their bodies using a knife. She wore specially made brown supporter gloves that allowed her to handle the corpses efficiently. Despite her experience and precision, the number of dead bodies. keep piling up. She never had thought that the day would come when she would have problems keeping up with the number of dead bodies to loot.

Shalltear leaped over the bodies and approached Lili, casually remarking, "I think those are all the ants that will come... Well, it was fun while it lasted~ I killed the lures. How are you, Lili?"

Fun? FUN?! You are freaking insane! How are you even holding up and not being tired?

Shalltear had single-handedly decimated the monsters that emerged from the dungeon, until it seemed to just give up on trying to kill Shalltear.

Lili sighed and facepalmed, realizing that Shalltear was far stronger than a Level 2 adventurer, possibly even surpassing a Level 4.

You have to be kidding me... Of all the adventurers to pick up to support…

"Ugh!... Do… you need some… help?" Shalltear looked slightly guilty, realizing she had gone overboard.

Exhausted, Lili simply stared at her with a tired poker face.

"...I am gonna take that as a yes… you can rest for a while…" Turning around, Shalltear began effortlessly cutting off the limbs of the dead ants, causing them to dissolve into ash, leaving only the torsos and reducing the pile.

Then, using her gloved hands, Shalltear skillfully extracted the magic stones from the ants' torsos, causing their bodies and blood to dissolve into ash as well.

o-O-o

"This is crazy," Lili muttered to herself as she trudged forward, feeling her heavy backpack. She was walking alongside Shalltear, heading back to the surface.

Lili couldn't believe it—her huge backpack was filled to the brim. She had never anticipated this day would come. As she considered the option of actually parting ways with Shalltear, she looked at the filled backpack on her back and hesitated, her eyes shining greedily.

She contemplated dumping Shalltear after tomorrow—she was just postponing the decision. Lili was torn between the desire for more money and the exhaustion and incredulity she felt towards Shalltear's overwhelming strength and unpredictable nature.

o-O-o

Lili couldn't believe her luck. The weird adventurer, Shalltear, had actually kept her word and allowed Lili to keep all the magic stones. Overwhelmed with happiness, Lili wore a wide smile as she looked at her super-filled backpack.

However, she soon realized that there was no way she could sell all of the magic stones and dropped items she was carrying to Born in the Gnome trader. Instead, she made the decision to go to the Guild's exchange. Lost in her thoughts and distracted by the day's unusual events, Lili completely forgot to transform into her werewolf form and change her face, which she typically did to conceal her identity when entering the Guild.

Arriving at the Guild Exchange, Lili placed her backpack on the floor and began the process of unloading a large number of magic stones. It took her some time to complete the task, but eventually, she managed to trade them for a substantial amount of money. She was elated with her newfound wealth and couldn't help but feel a sense of accomplishment.

However, as Lili turned around to leave, she was startled to find a person standing there—a slightly chubby, middle-aged man with red-brown hair, yellow eyes, raccoon ears, and a tail. It was Canoe Belway from the Soma Familia, the same Familia as Lili. He greeted her with a wicked smile, his height towering over her small frame.

"Well, if it isn't Tinyruca~" Canoe exclaimed, his wicked smile suggesting he had seen the substantial amount of money Lili had acquired.

Lili's happiness instantly turned into panic as she realized that she had forgotten to shapeshift and hide her identity. Canoe had seen the amount of money she had acquired.

This is bad, this is bad, this is bad.

Lilly's heart raced inside her small chest, her brain in all-out panic mode.

o-O-o

LOKI POV:

Loki found herself in a conversation with Rose Fannett, the red-haired werewolf wearing the guild uniform and serving as the official advisor of Loki Familia during their early days in Orario. Rose's face bore a harsh expression as they spoke.

"Any luck findin' the information?" Loki asked, her tone casual and informal.

"Loki Familia's goddess Loki, I didn't find any information on a Familia led by the god Cainabel or an adventurer named Shalltear Bloodfallen in the Guild archives." Rose responded, her fingers fidgeting with the ends of her long red hair.

Loki smirked and replied, "No need ta be so formal. Yer makin' my neck itchy. Talk normal, got it? We've known 'ach other for over fourteen years, y'know."

Rose, maintaining her stern demeanor, retorted, "It says in the manual that we're supposed to do that for the major Familias, so I can't help it, you know? If we don't do what we're supposed to, we get a pay cut."

Rose rejected any type of friendship or getting close to Dungeon Familias because she doesn't want to feel left alone again after they die in the Dungeon. Her tough personality was the result of experiencing the deaths of her assigned adventurers over and over.

Feelings of dejection washed over Loki, and she waved, "My bad, Rose. Thanks for your help."

Rose bowed formally and bid her goodbye, returning to her usual bored slouch behind the counter.

As Loki turned around to leave, she accidentally collided with a middle-aged man with raccoon ears. Lost in her thoughts, she hadn't seen him.

"Oy! Watch it!" the man exclaimed in annoyance, pushing Loki away before realizing who she was, then he turned to look who that person was. "Ugh! Goddess Loki?!" says the raccoon man, now scared that he had disrespected the goddess of the powerful Loki Familia.

"Yes, I'm Loki. Ya got a problem?" she inquired.

The man in a hurry says, "I-I am not making any trouble," showing the palms of his hands as if trying to appease Loki.

Lie

Her brows furrow, her eyes looking predatory, and couldn't help but remark, "Ya got balls, tryin' to lie to a goddess and start a fight with me." She couldn't help but wonder if he had been sent after her or as a warning sign she caught beforehand. The timing of his appearance, coinciding with her investigation into Cainabel and Shalltear within the Guild, seemed too convenient.

Her gaze fell upon the emblem on the man's attire—a goblet surrounded by a crescent moon. It was the emblem of the Soma Familia, known for their insatiable hunger for money to purchase Soma. Loki surmised that the man was likely a contracted goon sent to deliver a warning.

She was jumping the gun too much trying to connect the dots, and it didn't help that the raccoon man was handling the situation poorly.

With her gaze locked on the raccoon man, Loki demanded to know, "Who sent you?"

Sweat dripped down the man's face, and in a panic, he quickly turned and ran away from the Guild. Loki swiftly followed, trying to catch up, but she lost him amidst the bustling crowd on North West Main Street.

"Dammit," she muttered under her breath, frustrated at losing her lead.

Taking a moment to look around, Loki couldn't spot any clues or accomplices nearby. Letting out a sigh, she started walking back toward the Twilight Manor, her arms now behind her head in a relaxed posture.

As she walked, thoughts raced through her mind. She contemplated whether Shalltear had lied about her god or if the god wasn't registered at all. Memories of the Great Feud from five years ago resurfaced, and Loki couldn't help but feel that the situation with Shalltear might be similar.

Continuing her stroll along the stone road, Loki sighed again. She realized that she would have to wait for the rest of her familia to return from their expedition before attempting to contact or make a move on Shalltear. Alternatively, she considered investigating the Soma Familia to gather more information.

o-O-o

LAMIA MORMOS POV:

Deep within the 20th floor of the Large Tree Labyrinth, the Lamia Mormos vampirized by Shalltear slithers gracefully. Her scaly body undulating through the forest of strange flora.

The Lamia is wearing a blue t-shirt that she picked up from a dead adventurer. Naturally, when you pick things from dead adventurers they are ragged or with holes, this shirt had them in the lower section and was discolored making it a pale blue. She decided to tie it, and after a wash, the tied t-shirt looked much more fashionable than it had the right on her.

With a mischievous glint in her crimson eyes, she playfully moves a branch of a peculiar blue sunflower-like tree, revealing two figures hidden within.

One of the figures is a fluffy, cotton-like fur rabbit with red eyes, clad in a large blue battle jacket and a broken pocket watch adorning her neck. This is none other than Arles, the Al-Miraj Xenos. Mounted atop a black fur hellhound adorned with a pink bow, Helga, the fiery companion of Arles.

Spotting two figures amidst the surreal surroundings, the Lamia's enchanting gaze locks onto the sight. "Soo cuuuuttee!!", with a girlish scream of delight, she darts forward, arms outstretched.

"Kuu?" Arles utters, her surprise evident in her voice. But before she can react, the Lamia's swift movements sweep her off the back of Helga.

Arles finds herself embraced tightly by the Lamia, causing her to comically wiggle in discomfort. "Kyuu!" she squeaks, a mix of pain and amusement in her voice.

With a burst of strength and agility, Arles manages to break free from the Lamia's deadly embrace, narrowly averting the departure of her soul from her body. The fluffy white rabbit hops in place, her anger palpable as she emits a series of adorable yet frustrated rabbit noises. "Kyuu! Ku! Kyuuuuu!"

Meanwhile, Helga, the loyal hellhound, growls and barks in an attempt to communicate something to the perplexed Lamia. However, the Lamia can only offer a quizzical tilt of her head in response. "...Yes?" she replies, her voice laced with confusion.

Feeling exasperated by the situation, Helga lets out a sigh and proceeds to faceplant her head against the ground, a gesture that expresses her resignation and mild frustration.

o-O-o

SHALLTEAR POV, NIGHT:

The silver-haired girl was in the Middle Floors of the dungeon walking around. Shalltear had been experimenting with the dungen monsters and Cainabel's Falna.

So… what I got so far… is that the Racial Levels in the Falna of monsters are based on their race or closest to Yggdrasil.

If I convert a monster to a vampire it adds one level as Vampire, plus the Racial levels it has.

If I raise a dead humanoid monster as a Zombie it also adds one level, same for Undead Beasts.

And also their Archetype changes, even if the monster is based on agility, the basic stats get re-distributed from an agility type to a strength type if I convert it to a vampire…

…Probably because Vampires in Yggdrasil were typically frontliners, warrior types…

"...The changes are much more profound than what I initially imagined" she says while deep in thought.

A monster is dead at her feet, she had been killing the monsters she had experimented upon because the Falna was wide open to be seen by others and could give her problems. She was being careful to not leave any loose ends. After all, she didn't know the specific hand movements to lock a Status yet, even if she knew the general process.

That is how Racial Levels work… But what about Job Levels?

Can I make a vampire monster learn a Job class?

Something to experiment on…

o-O-o

Some time later, a Merman lay dead at Shalltear's feet and shortly became ashes. She smiled from ear to ear and said "Ahaha!", she looked happy.

It worked! The Merman actually got the Archer job if they practice over and over killing things with a bow and arrows…

That means that Cainabel's Falna does actually allow you to gain Yggdrasil classes!

Shalltear picked up a bow and some arrows from the ashes, putting them in her inventory. She had got the bow and arrows from a dead adventurer and used a Merman for the experiment where she had used the Mass Hold Species spell on a group of monsters and the Merman just kept practicing with the bow until killing them.

Shalltear was bent on exploring more about the Falna blessing she can give using Cainabel's blood. She was like a child unwrapping her present on Christmas and wanted to know all the details of the toy she got.

If it can give the classes, does it also give you the abilities?

I need to test this! I need to know!

What class could I use to quickly test this? Some class that has nothing in common with this world magic…

Oh!

She got an idea and with a gate spell she quickly disappeared from the scene.

o-O-o

Shalltear was now on the 10th floor of the dungeon straddling a Bad Bat in the dungeon, the hieroglyphs on the bat's back glowed with a deep dark-blood-red hue. She had determined that the Bad Bats were the best monster to test this experiment on.

Now! Let's see if by drinking blood they can gain the Blood Drinker job class~

She then proceeded to cut her hand and a little pool of blood gathered in her palm, she was thinking of giving it to the Bat. Suddenly her instincts flared and gave her revulsion, it was like her body telling her 'No'.

Shalltear stopped her movement saying "Huh?!"

Then she tried to move her hand forward again but her instincts interrupted her. Shalltear's brows furrowed, "What… is happening?" she said in confusion looking at her hand with the little blood pool that was being absorbed back into her body.

I… have an aversion to giving out my blood?

For her it was like a person discovering one day when they wake up that they cannot move a leg, it felt alien to her. But considering Shalltear was a vampire it shouldn't be as surprising.

Another thing that comes with this body…Tch!

All right… I can manage… I just need to gather another monster to use its blood.

o-O-o

A little later, Shalltear was again straddling the same bat and an injured bat with both wings cut was near. The fresh blood spurting from the injured bat moved as though it had a will of its own, gathering above her head and forming a small orb of blood.

Shalltear's crimson pupils stirred. She willed the orb to go into the bat's mouth, it started to convulse from the sudden forceful way it went into its belly.

"Shhh… Shhhh… Don't fight it nor reject it… let it be a part of you…" She softly whispered to the bat's ears, while caressing it like it was a pet.

The bat convulsions stopped and it seemed to relax.

Shalltear lifted her head, stopped straddling the bat, and looked below at the bat's Status, the glowing hieroglyphs now showing the Blood Drinker Job class. "Yes!" said she while doing a small jump, she was happy.

Suddenly, a voice could be heard coming from Shalltear's back, only a few feet away, "What do you think you are doing?!"

Shalltear quickly rotated to look at the direction of the voice, she was surprised. She saw a humanoid figure in a black robe. The cloth covered the figure from head to foot, no skin was visible anywhere. No light reflected from beneath the hood, as if the being were formed of condensed shadows. Black gloves covered the hands at the ends of the robe's sleeves. A complex and intricate pattern was engraved on the back of them. The figure was Fels.

Fels had caught Shalltear giving a Falna and experimenting with monsters in the middle of the dungeon.

Shalltear's eyes went wide and said the only one thought that passed by her head: "Shit"