Chapter 3

That took the cake for weirdest shit so far.

We left the Rabbit House in a daze, just thankful we got away from that crazy lady in one piece. We walked the same way back with languid steps, the air thick with Freya's perfume. The scent of it seemed to linger like an afterglow even if it no longer made sense for us to still smell it. Just as heavy was Ottar in my memory, as if his footsteps wrote some unseen history wherever he passed. Here walked the King it seemed to say. It was baffling just considering why they chose to meet with us. Was it simple chance? Or perhaps Freya was interested in me? Maybe Freya was interested in something else from Loki? What was there to gain? There were too many questions with too little clues and too many rules to take into account.

The sister act I think at least was genuine since it lacked the deliberate poise of a plan in motion. It was that or I couldn't read Freya well enough. It was a chilling thought. I'd like to think I was capable of going toe to toe with the incarnated gods to some extent if it came to wits, but only now did I truly feel in over my head. Freya was just so different, and Ottar was just as transcendent. If any, the man was devoted to the T. It was in the way he held himself behind and with her, so natural and at ease despite how truly other she was.

And that was the hurdle I needed to reach and surpass.

Could I do it? No, it wasn't a question of could, or could not. There was only do or die trying. To give up was just as good as to accept death, and to be able to come home but be too late was just as horrible. No. I needed to get back as soon as I could. My life, family, and friends were worth whatever the cost.

I was still so painfully weak.

"You'll get there," Loki said.

"I know." I clenched my fist. "But if it took too long, then it'd be for nothing in the end."

"It's not indolence."

"But it is inability."

"Working yourself to death would be counterproductive."

"Nothing ventured, nothing gained."

Loki ruffled my hair. "Careful, or else my sister might end up taking an interest in you."

"I think she already has, but only because I'm involved with you."

"Yeah…"

"She's still family though." I smiled at her.

"That she is," she said with a gentle smile. "She's one crazy bitch. But she's still my sister."

"And I've got family too."

"I know." She held my hand and squeezed. "I saw."

I pulled her close and we walked with my arm over her shoulder. She was so comfortably warm. "I'm really enjoying my time here with you, Loki. With everyone. You have a wonderful family."

"We're family," she said, looking up into my eyes.

"We are." By her blood and power.

She rested her head on my shoulder. "I promise you," she said. "You will get there."

I breathed the scent of her in. "Is it so bad to want both? To both go home and stay?" If I could come back and forth at will, then it could easily solve everything. There was magic here, the very thing I prayed so hard for back home was already here and within my grasp. It was my dreams and fantasies come true, and it also affirmed the beliefs I so stubbornly kept with the existence of the next best thing. If there could be gods, then surely, there could be a God.

"My greedy little human," Loki said.

"To desire is to live." I stretched a hand towards the heavens. "I already have magic, would divinity be such a huge thing to ask for?"

Loki simply smiled.

It went without saying. I wasn't hearing her thoughts right now, and neither was she. Not because I couldn't, but because we were still our own persons with our own thoughts and fears. I wanted to pick her brain and get the answers I wanted to hear, but just because I could didn't mean I should. And the mind of a god could just as easily drive me mad as it would enlighten me, or so I figured. Was it worth the risk? No. I already had the means within my grasp, I just needed to execute them better.

In fact, I needed to step it up.

"Could I bother you to update my status when we get back?"

"Sure Thomas," Loki said, "but in exchange, you're buying desert."

She led me to a small corner of the babel tower still open despite the time. I checked my phone and saw it was already eleven in the evening. Loki saw the gadget and gaped, then shoved her hands into my pockets to hide the thing. She gave me that look that called me all three shades of stupid and then some. No words passed, just that intense glare.

To be fair, it was indeed pretty stupid of me to do that. "I dun goofed."

Loki shook her head. "Please tell me you only use that at home?"

"I've only brought it out now, and I couldn't bring this down to the Dungeon, so yes, I've only used this at home for music."

Loki's eyes went wide. "You have music in there?" She grabbed me by the collar. "If your taste is shit, I swear to me, I'll… shit. I can't even grill you for it. Just let me listen in? This place doesn't have jack shit."

This was probably the first time I'd ever been able to shoot Loki a smug look. "I have headphones."

Loki kneeled as if her prayers were answered by some distant higher power. A shit ton of people looked our way, including a few gods. They stood out from the cookie cutter masses without even trying, the very air about them as if carrying a glimpse of inspiration or awe, wonder too. There was a pair of goddesses who looked and pointed our way, a tall red-haired one with an eye patch and a short one with black hair in twin-tails and a ginormous pair. Like, how the hell was she even keeping her balance huge.

They ran over to us with incredulous looks and Loki grabbed onto my arm with a victorious smile.

"Loki?!" twin-tails said. "How?!"

Loki laughed all haughty.

"Impressive," the red-haired said as one eye… eyed me up and down.

"Be amazed!" Loki said. "This one's mine."

Twin-tails scoffed.

Loki lifted my tunic up and presented the magically crafted abdominals with jazz hands. I felt so objectified, but it was a funny and strange feeling nonetheless. It's not one I'd welcome every day, but it was fine for the occasional entertainment value. Twin-tails shielded her eyes but peeked through the gaps anyway. She then steeled herself and puffed her chest up, looking at me expectantly.

It was pretty awkward.

Twin-tails grabbed Loki and pulled her close. "You used your Arcana to charm a mortal?!"

Loki laughed with long drawn out syllables, emphasizing the exhale with each one to really project the sounds. "Admit it," she said. "He wants me." She nodded at me. "Tell them."

"Please don't make me say it in public."

Eye-patch gave twin-tails a pat on the shoulder and shook her head. "You've lost this one Hestia," she said. "This one's interested exactly in that."

Hestia spat. Literally. It was a sight to see the goddess of hearth and home so crass. "This ironing-board just got lucky." She harrumphed and turned away. "I'll go on ahead, Hephaistos. I know when to quit while I'm ahead."

Right. Sure. Hephaestus the disfigured smith was a hot lady. I could roll with that.

Loki did a small dance at the petty victory. And when Hestia had left, she went back to her normal self. "That shorty finally got what was coming to her." Loki nodded, then turned to Hephaestus. "And have you heard your Tsubaki snared my Thomas here, she's got a good eye."

"Spare me the puns Loki," Hephaistos said. "And yes, she was also really excited about that knife he showed her."

Loki turned to look at me like some demonic doll with stuck joints. Looks like I couldn't sell that knife anymore. I'd be an idiot to do it now seeing how close Tsubaki was to her patron, which shouldn't even be a surprise. In hindsight, I really ought to pay more attention to these higher levelled people in their familias. On second thought, anyone above level two I ought to look out for. Still, this wasn't that bad a thing since I haven't sold it yet, and it's not like I was strapped for cash. Also, it occurred to me that selling the thing could easily spread word of my circumstances. And if it really got out, then Freya might try and snap me right up, and that was only if she were the only one crazy enough to go on that wild goose chase. If Hestia was that bad, what more everyone else?

"Thomas here isn't very good with pushy types," Loki said, apologetic.

The look on Hephaistos's face called her bullshit out a mile away. It went without saying it took a certain mentality to deal with Loki it seemed, though she and her familia were the only tolerable people I'd met so far, barring getting to know the others outside her familia. Okay, so I hadn't really gotten to know anyone else besides her and sure she could still just as easily be lying to and using me. She gave me magic though, and even if I tried running then her level sixes could easily screw me over. I hadn't seen any signs of malice yet, so I was safe for now. But, how hard would it be to kill a higher-level person? And, how much experience would that net me? But since the guild existed, I doubt I could live in peace after that. What's more, with this Falna system, there was probably some permission needed from the god before someone could leave the familia. I would've had the same safeguards in place for sure.

Sinister, but effective.

"Sure, Loki," Hephaestus said. She scratched her cheek. "Tsubaki was also really excited with getting your child here a contract with her, said he was destined to make waves."

Loki raised her chin. "Sounds about right."

"She didn't want to miss another sword princess. Hephaestus chuckled, it was a graceful, throaty sound. "Is he more stable at least?" She raised an eyebrow, a small smile hiding behind the light jab.

"Probably," Loki said after a slight pause.

"Hey!"

"I mean, sure he is," she said with a grin.

"Anyone besides Finn… wait, no. No one in her familia is sane, stable is a horrible comparison because there's no one to compare with."

"You're talking about your fellow children, mind you," Hephaestus said.

"That's exactly why I can say that."

Hephaestus looked at Loki, she shrugged. "Kids say the darndest things, eh?"

Hephaestus shook her head. "He reminds me of you."

"That just means he's even more amazing," Loki said. "That reminds me, I have a business pitch for you but let's talk about it tomorrow. Same place?"

Hephaestus nodded. "Showing off, hmm?"

Loki raised an eyebrow. "Maybe, but really, this time I got something big planned."

"Sure," Hephaestus said, "you always come through for me anyway." She turned to me. "I'm looking forward to your business then." She extended her hand.

I took it and gently squeezed, just enough to convey confidence but not enough to be creepy. "Thank you, and it was a pleasure to meet you too, Hephaestus."

"You're a scholar?" Hephaestus asked.

"I'm sorry?"

"You called me with an older name," she said.

"Oh, I apologize. I didn't mean to offend if I did." Was it rude to do that? I couldn't get used to how they said her name, but I ought to. I might end up blowing my cover if I just up and said some god's name without knowing the local tone. Though, it ought to be more prudent to just avoid saying any god's name besides Loki's.

"Don't mind it," Hephaestus said. "It was just a pleasant surprise."

We said our goodbyes after that and Hephaestus excused herself, saying the night was already late. She also confirmed the time and place for tomorrow's meeting with Loki. She carried herself professionally and with dignity, a complete one-eighty from Loki, but she also seemed like a boring person. And if her familia was all as serious as her then I wouldn't survive long there. Ah, and they were a trade familia too, so they probably had no big reasons to go down into the dungeon, levelling up would be a lot harder with them too.

Loki dragged me over to the shop she wanted to go to and I saw this place that looked like a retro soda fountain bar complete with the: fixed stools, long counter top, and the iconic bright red lights that spelled out the name of the place, Aegir's. The place was a neat little shop enclosed by large glass windows and the way in was a glass door just like any I'd see in the metro. We went in and the place was cooled with the soft thrum of magical air-conditioning and the scent of vanilla filled the air.

"What."

Loki lifted my jaw off the floor. "I knew you'd like the place." She pulled my hand and had me sit on one of the stools, the polished tiled floors in checkered black and white reflecting the dull colors of my clothes and the red lights. "Aegir serves the best shakes anywhere—since she's the only one willing to really spend on it."

A small lady who was only a head taller than the counter came in from the polished steel double doors. They swung freely back and forth, like those you'd see in any diner by the road side. She had blue hair in neat ponytail and wore a crisp white uniform complete with that iconic paper hat. I'd never been to a soda fountain before, but I'd seen enough Coca Cola ads to know what one looked like, and this, this was just amazing!

"Hey Aegir," Loki said with a smile.

"Hey Loki," she said. She couldn't have been less enthused with our being here. "You having the usual?"

Loki nodded. "And can I borrow the menu? New guy might want something different."

I was pretty sure Aegir sounded like a dude's name but what the hell did I know.

Aegir reared her head back and tilted it at Loki. "Okay?" she said. She then passed me a stiff paper board carefully painted in with delicate detail, the letters in the usual blocky serif and the colors that popped out from everything else.

There was only one logical choice to make in any new shake place. It was the one true test of a good mix, of whether they had a killer shake. "I'll have a vanilla, plain."

Aegir looked at Loki—who shrugged. The former shook her head and punched it into the mechanical register that returned a bill of three thousand Varis. Jeebus. "You ordered for one vanilla shake and one chocolate yoghurt and mead shake with a raw egg."

"What."

"Yeah," Aegir said. She shook her head.

I looked at Loki.

"No judging."

"It must've been tough."

"It really has."

I passed her the money and Aegir got to work on her stuff and damn were her hands a blur. It was magical—wait, yeah, sure, let's say that was literal magic. Her hands were magic in the way they kept the evils properly blended within Loki's drink that it didn't look like a disaster one bit. It smelled alright, against the logical expectation, and it was a testament to her skill and dedication to providing the service that really saw it through.

After that was my milkshake, it barely took any effort from the divine mixer.

Aegir passed our drinks from the bar by sliding them over the counter. Loki and I got our orders in those milkshake glasses complete with the striped red straws. It was the exact experience I never thought I'd ever get to experience, and it was in a whole 'nother world no less! Hell yeah! Screw those hipsters from audit!

It tasted like world peace. Or like reading about world peace from the morning paper while having a fresh plate of pancakes and bacon and a nice brew of coffee. It was bliss.

And soon enough I was slurping away at the leftover foam. "How?"

"I know," Loki said, looking just as euphoric as I imagined myself to be.

"This place can't be easy to maintain." I looked at Aegir and got a nod in agreement. "And pardon me, but I expected longer lines."

Aegir shrugged. "I get by," she said. "And this is just my side job."

Loki nodded. "She's another one of the top contenders for the strongest familia behind us."

"Eh," Aegir said. "If it funds my hobby, then go for it." She raised a fist but there was no energy behind the gesture.

"Her children are all in it just to spoil her."

Aegir shrugged. "They're free to do what they want."

"Which to them means making sure their goddess is happy and all her little quirks and kinks are satisfied."

Aegir nodded. "They are good children."

"Is she another sister?" I was starting to see a pattern here.

"Unfortunately," Aegir said. "And she's also a regular so I can't say no to those… things she makes me do."

"I love you too sister dear," Loki said, trying to reach over the counter but was kept at bay by Aegir's practiced hands. "And would you know if Freya's up to something again?"

Aegir sighed. "This is a soda fountain not a speakeasy, no one talks about any shady dealings here." She gestured at the lights. "I'm not a fan of those dinghy places."

"You'd be a hit if you went back to brewing though," Loki said.

"I prefer milkshakes." Aegir stroked the soda tap that dispensed milk. "Milkshakes are cute."

Yep, there was definitely a pattern here.

"Whatever floats your boat then," Loki said. "And be careful around Freya, she looks like something's caught her eye again."

"When has she ever not?" Aegir polished the glasses by the counter with a clean and white cloth.

"Good point," Loki said. She finished off the rest of her drink.

The night ended with that and good lord was it worth every Varis I spent. Aegir wished us both good night and added Loki ought to get more conventional tastes. She also put in a request for some Cadmus Spring Water which she said was the only respectable ingredient for making the sodas she had on the other tap. Loki agreed, and the usual payment was what they settled on, which was to give Loki an ninety percent discount for the month.

Which meant those drinks we had went upwards of thirty thousand. Crazy.

#

Wake up, shower, get breakfast, tease a few people, then Loki dragged me to her room for a quick status update. People were starting to comment on how clingy Loki was with her updating me every day when everyone else seemed to get it every other week. Perhaps status growth slowed down the higher one's stats were? But she wasn't as active with updating Tina and Agata, then again, it's not like I was in the manor all day.

The room was bathed in the usual blue glow.

"You've been putting monsters into submission holds," she said. "You've also been abusing your magic and equipment to their absolute limits, not to mention taking unnecessary risks just to bump up your stats."

"It's all about the grind."

A finger swipe here, another few there. "Boxing with a war shadow, that's a first. And then the age-old block and stab. You were really all over the place, Thomas." Loki pressed a sheet of paper to my back and did her thing. She passed it to me a moment after.

#

Level 1

Strength = I 7 -> I 47

Endurance = I 9 -> I 60

Dexterity = I 15 -> I 88

Agility = I 5 -> I 38

Magic = I 37 -> H 117

Madness Spectrum = I

Tranquil Intervention = I

World Walker = I

Fated Actor = I

Magic

Answered Prayer = Allows two-way communication with one's patron god or goddess with Mind consumption based on distance. Chantless Magic.

Despair = An enchant magic that steeps the user's attacks with the chaos of the World Boundary and enfeebles targets when attacked. Has a chance to inflict madness, fear, or confusion. Chant: "Madness"

Saudade = An area of effect drain spell that takes the magic and life force contained in all within range and transfers it to the user. Targets stronger than the user are able to resist having their magic and life stolen. Has a five-meter radius, and a chance to inflict madness, fear, or confusion. Chant: "Taken from the peace of home / I now stand beyond the veil / The aberrant demands reparation"

Skill

Babel Jack = Allows automatic translation of written and verbal information to some understandable form to the user.

#

"You just broke the first H level stat." She shook her head. "In two days."

"Tione would get a kick out of that!"

Loki laughed in a patronizing way. "Sure, then she'll kick your ass after." She took back the sheet. "And you got another magic, and it's just as edgy as the last one."

I shrugged. "It's still good though, to have some way of replenishing mana on the go. Spend some, recover more, that's a pretty good trade off."

"Either way, you got something for wanting it bad enough." Loki scratched her head.

"Desperation seemed like a good idea to build experience."

"Technically, yes. But that's a bad way to do it since if you get used to the danger, then your returns will only suffer in the long run. Not to mention that'll end up raking up the requirements for next time." Loki sighed. "It's only been four days Thomas, try not to kill yourself."

"You know everything about me Loki." That was fact. I knew I couldn't hide anything from her. "You know why."

"It doesn't stop me from worrying." She placed a hand on my chest, her eternal grin replaced with an expression she clearly wasn't used to. "And I get your suspicions," she said. "Just… just try to believe in me, please? I'd hope to get your trust, but I'll settle for your cooperation."

I rested my head on her shoulder, she smelled of vanilla. "I can't hide that I'm still afraid, and it doesn't help me accept what I've come to be. I've been changed." I breathed her in. "It's not easy."

Loki cradled my head in her arms. "I just need you to try. That's all for now."

I wanted to say yes right there and then. That, sure, I understood, that all would be alright. But it wasn't easy at all. We were both just as clueless as far as I knew.

"Try and believe in me," she continued, "and believe in the strength you're building up." She stroked my hair, her fingertips touching my scalp. She learned how I liked having my hair played with by reading into my soul, my everything. Doubts, fears, fantasies, everything laid out before her all-encompassing empathy, including the secrets I hoped to hold in the deepest darkest corners of my mind. That intimacy scared me both because she knew everything, and also because she knew how I thought of her too.

There was Loki the malevolent god—and Loki the woman in front of me. I don't know if it was my magic, but whenever she opened my status, things would bleed through. Small things, gut feelings, the little stirrings of uncertainty. I only now noticed how her fingers would slow when the more intimate parts of me surfaced: the worst-case scenarios, the conspiracy theories, the unvoiced accusations. We weren't the perfect duo I prayed for us to be because I ultimately sought to be away from her. That, and… she was a god.

Too soft lips lightly touched my forehead. "Look at me," she said. Loki pulled my face away from her. I couldn't feel my cheeks, but I could feel her hold me in a way I didn't know I wanted. "You're here, Thomas."

"I know." And it hurt to be. It hurt to want to be here and also want to be back home.

"You'll be alright," she said. Her eyes wouldn't let me look elsewhere, it was a force both terrible and sweet. Dangerous, seductive, profoundly Ancient. It was so much more than whatever she was right now, and yet at the same time it was held in something so fragile. "I promise you," she continued, "I will see you home."

I wanted to kiss her.

"Let me be the home you can come back to," she said, "for now." There was a sparkle in her eyes like the twinkling gleam of a distant star. Loki pulled me close to her chest, and what I heard was a wreck of a rhythm. The kind that sent blood banging against your ears and made you lose your calm, the kind you'd feel as you fell so hopelessly deeper and deeper.

It was a familiar beat: the sound of life.

"I'm alive too, Thomas," she said. "And I'm just as real as you are. With feelings, hopes, dreams, and fears. I am"—there was a bittersweet irony in her tone—"human, so very human that I didn't know I could be like this." She breathed out and the years seemed to pass in that moment. "You make me feel," Loki said. She slumped her shoulders. "You make me feel in a way so intense and unfamiliar that I don't know if I want to or not, but I don't have a choice, and I can't hate it either."

I held onto her hands and moved so we could see eye to eye. I tried to smile but I must've been a blushing mess. "Don't you think we're moving a little fast for… this?"

She pulled me in.

And kissed me on the cheek. "I don't know if I want to find out."

"You're a god."

"And you're impossible."

There was still that desire to get back home, and it'd never leave, but for now I had whatever this was. I moved us so our foreheads were touching. She was so warm. "Loki?"

"Yeah?"

"Can gods get pregnant?"

She pushed me off the bed. "Ruin the moment why don't cha." She crossed her arms, mouth in a pout with cheeks puffed up.

I sat on the floor, amused and giddy and just so confused. But I was happy, and that's what mattered. For now. "I was pretty sure that counted as seduction."

And that's when Loki's doors burst open and in came spilling a pile of bodies: Riveria, Lefiya, Alicia, Anakity to name a few. Basically, all of the rumormongers of the familia which meant practically everyone. I could even see Rakta's ears from all the way in the back, and even Narvi was there even if we haven't really talked all that much before.

Loki dove for the women. "Salvation!"

But everyone moved away fast enough and all she ended up with was tackling Lefiya into the ground and into a mess of limbs. She would've went ahead and had her way with the poor girl had I not picked Loki up and slung her over my shoulder.

"Hey!" she said. "This isn't one of my kinks!"

"And I'm sure it isn't one of Lefiya's either." Her thighs and small stomach were so smooth and so inviting.

"Thank you, Thomas," Lefiya said. Elfy helped her get up. The two looked at their goddess's bum. "Umm, good luck with Loki."

"We leave her in your care," Anakity said.

"Please take her away," Tione added.

"You were here too?"

"Thomas, can you put me down now?"

"I'm still enjoying your thighs."

Rakta raised her hand from behind the crowd. "Could you please put a shirt on first?"

"Skip the shirt," Loki said.

"Yeah, I can't take this anymore," Tione said. "Why won't the captain notice me already?!"

"I'm right here," Finn said with a raised hand.

I never knew a level five shouting with all her might was strong enough to shatter glass.

#

I sat on the floor of my room with my gear laid out before me.

There was the armor Gareth lent me: the leather jacket, greaves, and vambraces that were probably of such a high level that a level one like me had no business even touching them. The shield was next to the neat pile, dinged and scratched up, and seemed to be the most reasonable one I had with respect to my level. The short sword was next to it, and apparently it was called Ale. Weird to name a sword after a drink, but whatever. It was a good piece, and again it seemed too good for a level one. There was also my knife, but this one didn't count.

I also took out some other stuff from my bag that could be of use: a set of three carabiners, some stainless steel eating utensils, a flint fire starter, crank-charged flashlight, a multi-tool, and the belt included with the multi-tool for hanging it and other stuff. Not much, but utility was the focus here, not firepower. The carabiners and belt I could include under my tunic to increase the stuff I could carry on my person in a fight, the hooks would be good for holding some small things too like maybe a potion or a bomb.

I needed to ramp up my game.

A short sword could only do so much, and the fights were too slow going, perhaps to take out the monsters in one attack was what I really needed to rake up the points. Loki already said my stats were growing faster than they had any right to, and it was a combination of all the weird crap in my Falna that added up. The new additions were going to be crucial to pumping out the numbers.

There was a small risk to taking advantage of the growth given Loki's lack of knowledge though, but we didn't have a choice on the matter.

Assuming what I needed then was to only land the killing blow to receive exilia, then killing faster would be the way to go. To build stats would necessitate the execution of actions in line with the basic abilities, but if I could increase both at the same time, then that would be the most efficient. Theoretically, sticking to what I was already doing was for the best since it meant a balance between status and level. Or perhaps what was necessary was to build up stats first before the level? It made more sense to do so, but that also meant a lot of time. However, empty levels would be more harm than good.

That didn't change the fact I was on a timeline though.

Maybe I could just keep pushing floors until I found a monster I couldn't kill outright and just keep on grinding those? Risky, but it would be the real balance between status and level gain. And I've got Gareth to power me through anyway, the risk was already lowered by a lot, might as well gun for it as hard as I could.

I could spare another day to test out my hypothesis, but with what I've already done so far, the last two days should've been enough for a more educated estimation. I already killed a lot, and I was sure there was also the quality of the exilia related to the kill, so piling up all these mobs and doing an actual grind would be too exhaustive and would not be feasible with the plan.

Decided, I went up to Gareth to pitch my proposal. I found him sitting in the founding trio's usual spot, by the corner of the ground floor where all the bookshelves were. He was together with Finn and just chatting the morning away before we went back to the dungeon.

"Okay, so I have like twenty-seven days left to grind, right? I was thinking, why don't we go somewhere really low, like a level two at least floor. Then I can fight the first monster we find until I either get beaten up or I kill it. That way, if I lose, I gain a shit ton of stats, and if I win, I get the stats and the exilia!"

Gareth pursed his lips, coffee still in hand. He turned to Finn seated next to him. "Pay up."

Finn passed him a few golden coins, the thousand Varis ones.

"I bet you'd look for a way to bypass the normal progression," Gareth said.

"And I bet you'd ignore it and keep killing lower level monsters to build up your stats," Finn said.

"And Riveria?"

"We didn't accept something stupid as the condition," Gareth said. "Too broad."

"Fair." I nodded. "So, how about it?"

Gareth stroked his beard. "If you come down to the lower floors without the fear of death, then the fights you pick won't have any meaning to them and would instead reduce the exilia you gain."

"It's worth the trade I believe, and you shouldn't save me outright. I'll have to run away with my own power first, I understand the safety net would hamper the benefits, but at least the status gain would be much higher than what I get now."

Finn nodded. "Logical, but it's for the best you at least go through the first ten floors first. The most important part there is for you to experience the different status effects the lower monsters can inflict so you can qualify for Abnormal Status Resistance. It's an indispensable ability for the lower floors."

"Those monsters err, spread powders or some gasses? Or maybe exude fluids?"

"Yes," Finn said, surprised. "Good guess."

"How lethal are they?"

"Why don't I like where this is going?" Gareth said.

"I have an idea." If it wasn't immediately lethal then this could work much better than I first thought. "So, how lethal are we talking about?"

Finn scratched his cheek. "The poison moth has a chance to poison if you get covered by its scales."

"And what if you inhale it?"

"I'm really not liking where this is going."

"It's still a chance to get poisoned," Finn said with narrowed eyes. He paused. "Thomas, no."

"Thomas, yes."

The two stared at me long and hard before finally giving in. "But we're taking an antidote with us and that's final," Gareth added. "No getting over it on your own or any of that."

"Excellent. Also, there should be something like a boss monster, right?"

Gareth just shook his head and Finn face palmed. "I swear he's worse than Aiz," Gareth said.

"At least he's not mindlessly trying to kill himself."

"That's exactly the problem."

"So, which floor can I meet one? If all goes well, I think soloing it would be another good way to grind. And if I can kill it, I'm sure it'll drop a lot of good stuff."

Gareth and Finn had on difficult looks. "If Aiz heard that," Gareth said with a shake of his head. "Nay, I'd rather believe she didn't."

"Soloing a monster rex isn't impossible, just really really stupid. You'd have to be either really strong or really stupid to even attempt it."

"It ain't stupid if you win."

"You're not wrong," Finn said.

"I really hate it when he's spot on," Gareth said.

"I was also thinking of learning to use a great sword. Or something with a large enough attacking area but still light enough to maneuver easily. I'm not too confident with using an axe because of the concentrated striking area, and a spear I believe wouldn't be able to take as much abuse as a solid blade." If I could get something along the lines of a Monster Hunter greatsword then I'd be set. If I had that, all I had to do was bump up my strength and agility and I should already be able to take care of a lot of things. It'd be shit in smaller areas though. But definitely something for boss fights in the future.

"You've got a good head Thomas, but you use it for a lot of stupid things," Gareth said. "Getting a bigger sword is the only thing I agree with. We can have Tsubaki craft you a custom weapon if you want, but it'll cost us a bit of money. That short sword of yours costed us a million Varis before."

I held up the blade with reverence. "No wonder it's such a good blade."

"Aye, it is." Gareth looked at it with fondness.

"Fun times," Finn said.

#

We then picked up the potions I'd need for my experiment by the Dian Cecht pharmacy and put in order with Tsubaki for a great sword. In the meantime, Gareth lent me one of his older ones from the vault. Again, it looked like a weapon too much for a level one, but I wasn't gonna be picky. A plus fifty to attack was way better than a plus five, but if that affected status growth then it'd suck big time. Thanks to the status and my improved strength, the two-handed sword that was as tall as I was I could swing and lift with some effort. It was a thin blade no wider than my palm, just enough mass to generate force with, and light enough to not get in the way too much.

Gareth showed me a few practice swings and made sure I could copy them to some extent before we went down into the Dungeon. My load out then had me mounting the shield on my back and the short sword by the small of my back, while the knife was hidden in my left vambrace. I could switch out the great sword for the shield and take out the short sword, and I could drop whatever I was holding to take out my knife and go for the ground fight. Gareth listened to the explanation with an uneasy look but couldn't deny the logic, so he begrudgingly accepted my dropping the expensive equipment when the need arose.

Today it was just me, Gareth, and Riine, and we went straight for the seventh floor to pick up a poison moth.

"Yeah, you heard right. Pick up a poison moth."

Riine looked at Gareth who rolled his eyes. "This is why we need your healing magic."

"I'm holding onto a coil of rope," Riine said. "Please tell me this isn't for what I think it's for."

I unsheathed the great sword and felt its reassuring weight. The double-edged blade meant I couldn't mount it on my shoulder and carry it like Cloud would, and I was sure I didn't want the sword's edge any closer to my neck than when it was sheathed. "Adventure!"

The seventh floor spawned three staple monsters: the Killer Ant, the Poison Moth, and the Needle Rabbit. There was also the Blue Papilio but that was a bonus because the powder from its wings was used for healing potions. It wasn't long until we met all three in the same encounter. There were three ants, two rabbits, and two moths.

"Thomas," Gareth said, "the ants attract more ants the longer they stay alive."

"Really?"

"That's a bad idea and I'm stopping you right now," Gareth said.

"Thank you, Gareth," Riine said.

I charged towards the group with the sword held high—and got an ant tackle me into the ground. I quickly rolled away on my side, the bumping of the shield against the Dungeon floor jolting me with every revolution. I then stood and ran away from them with the rabbits snapping—padding after my heels. I looked back, and they lunged for me with their horns and I jumped sideways to dodge before sheathing the great sword and taking out the short sword and shield.

I charged for the rabbits with shield at the ready and bashed one into the ground before stomping its body down. The second rabbit fell not long after. The ants were relatively slow, and I could save them for later—though the three ants were now five. The poison moth however just kept hovering above me and I never bothered to kill it, choosing instead to tank the poison powder. If the poison wasn't as bad after all, then I was planning on going through this entire raid in a poisoned state. That was bound to net something good.

"Gareth! Riine! Let's keep running! I'll kill off the monsters in one sweep!"

"I knew this was gonna happen!" Gareth said, running way faster than his frame suggested. He was a level six so none of this would've bothered him. "You might end up killing someone if you keep this up!"

"Good point." I then fall back and sliced the abdomen off one ant and dragged it behind me, catching up to Riine and Gareth.

"This isn't any better," Gareth said.

"But they're bound to follow whichever monster is calling for help right?" I sheathed the short sword and took out my knife before jamming it into the dismembered insect. "Viola!" The creature squirmed and snapped its mandibles while it let out a blood curdling screech.

"Thomas can be pretty cruel," Riine said.

"And downright stupid," Gareth added.

We kept running all the way until the stairs to the eight-floor after which I threw myself into the horde of monsters chasing after us.

"Madness," I called, and shrouded my entire body with the magic and immediately the snaps and tackles weren't as horrible, and I was able to cut swathes through their ranks, ignoring what they dished out and instead focused on swinging the great sword left and right, reaping lives with each pass.

The ants' mandibles couldn't pierce through the jacket, and the greaves were enough to block their attacks at my legs. The few ones that managed to snag my thighs were mitigated by the magic weakening them, smarting like a bitch but not enough to break flesh. The rabbits also kept pelting my body and everywhere hurt. I furthered the consumption of Despair and kept swinging back and forth, spinning and slashing with the blade and just letting its weight do the hurting.

I never bothered killing the poison moths and now that breathing was becoming harder and harder, it was the perfect time for my new spell. However, it was also a prime opportunity for another experiment. I felt for that weight and lifted it up, letting the magic swell. I stopped Despair before saying, "Taken from the peace of home. I now stand beyond the veil. The aberrant demands reparation."

Black light exploded from my body and the monsters around me crumbled to dust, leaving nothing behind. Okay, losing out on collecting stones wasn't all that horrible, but it still left a bad taste in my mouth to not come back with any cash. With the immediate area around me cleared of monsters, I was able to take better stock of the situation.

Monsters as far as the eye could see kept swarming, the ones left alive with my reckless swinging calling forth more and more ants.

My head cleared up after receiving the life force from Saudade's drain and I was able to come back swinging for the healthier ants. I could just finish off the wounded ones after taking care of the immediate threats. The rabbits I stomped and swiped at with Despair, after which they barely registered as threats. The moths kept on coming, and this vicious cycle of me dismembering the ants then using Saudade to recover kept on repeating for a few good minutes before the horde thinned out enough for me to finish the fight.

When the last ant died, the flock of purple moths stayed afloat above me without a care.

Riine already had the Abnormal Status Resistance skill so she helped me carve up the monsters' stones. But even she felt weird with leaving all those monsters alive to fly above us and spread their poison as we worked. Whenever I felt the poison take hold, I'd cast Saudade a few steps away from the monster corpses, so I didn't drain the magic stones too.

We finished collecting the stones a few minutes later and there was enough there to fill a small bag with magic crystals, killer ant shells, purple moth wings, and needle rabbit furs. Gareth said we could sell the materials over to Tsubaki so my order for a great sword wouldn't cost as much. We then caught the last purple moth I kept alive and tied its body to my helmet wing-side down, this was so it couldn't bite at my head.

"I think the seventh floor is my new favorite place."

"I swear, Thomas, you'll end up killing your fellow level ones," Gareth said.

"Gareth," Riine said, "I don't think Thomas still counts."

"Aye."

The eighth floor only contained goblins and kobolds and they weren't even worth mentioning, the ninth floor was like that too, but they spawned faster. Sure, they hit harder, but the ants were harder to fight because of how short they were, and their spawn rates were faster than the ninth floor. Needle rabbits and poison moths further complicated things too, which made me evaluate the seventh floor to be better.

On reaching the tenth floor, the usual halls gave way to a dense forest of stone trees and a heavy sea of mist, the ceiling was high enough to not be seen and the geometry of it made no sense at all. The space we ran around in in the ninth floor was nowhere near like what the space below implied. Yes, magic probably ran weird things with the Dungeon's dimensions, but there was also the possibility that the Dungeon wasn't governed by Euclidean math.

"Here's where you get your first look at a large monster," Gareth said. "The orcs here are the first you'll encounter in the Dungeon. You should do just fine, but don't let down your guard for a second."

I nodded and ventured into the mists. Gareth and Riine stayed back while I readied the great sword. The ant massacre earlier was made possible by the large weapon, and despite it being so large and awkward, I couldn't dispute its reach. A few moments later and the star of the show made its way to the front—an orc easily twice as tall as me and five times as wide appeared from the shadows beyond the mist. It was a pale green humanoid pig with a bell-like body and comically small arms.

It squealed and walked up to a tree, then pulled it out as its tendril-like branches straightened out to become a large club.

"Gareth?" I pointed at it. "It's got a stick."

"That's called a landform weapon," he said.

"Is it worth anything?"

Gareth grumbled. "Only the ones from the deeper floors."

"Damn."

"Focus, Thomas!"

I sidestepped the club crashing down for my head and slashed upwards at the orc, opening up its belly. It fell a second later. "That wasn't so bad!"

The next few orcs came but they were too slow to put up a fight, and they fell as fast as they appeared. With a single swing, I killed each one. I didn't even get a chance to use either Despair or Saudade.

"Onwards to the eleventh floor!"

"You haven't even seen the Imps and Bat Pats yet," Gareth said.

"Eh, the spawn rate sucks here. The gold efficiency is crap."

"What?"

"It's not worth the effort."

"Fine," Gareth said. Riine comforted him with a back rub.

We moved on and went down, and the eleventh floor was the same as the tenth save for the trees. They were sparser but larger here, and just as soon as I touched the floor an orc made its way towards me with a larger club than upstairs. I spun into its swing and avoided the strike and delivered another upward slash, ending it. I then had to bend back to avoid another club coming from me horizontally before retaliating with a downward slash that split it from the head down.

More orcs came not a second later bringing with them these spinning yellow dog-like things with overlapping plates. They came at me rolling and I had to roll away myself just to dodge them. Out of curiosity, I took a swing at the charging creature and cleaved it in two.

"This sword is bullshit!"

"Call the kettle black!" Gareth said.

I rolled away from an orc's swing and took two down in return. "Madness," I called, and wrapped myself with my magic as insurance. It was a mechanical method, side step when a club came from overhead, roll back if the club came from the side, counter attack if a hard armored came rolling, and swing whenever I had the time. The orcs' large bodies made them large targets, and much easier to kill with the reach. My short sword could've been of use in some other context, but it was easiest to do it with this.

Another orc fell, and I rolled back to avoid the sweep. A hard armored came rolling and I recovered into a sweep of the blade to the side, bisecting it before riding the swords momentum to roll to the side and stand. What's nice with the eleventh floor was how large the place was, and as long as I kept mobile and only counterattacking to take out the monsters, then I could avoid them outflanking me.

The air whistled from behind me, so I dove forward to avoid the club from behind. My magic shroud also made me more sensitive to movements nearby, perhaps by heightening my senses or by some other way. I'd test out why later, for now it was a pleasant advantage.

There were around ten or so orcs in front and charging with the hard armored spawns dying as soon as they entered the battle. It was a bit disappointing with how mindless the dog-things were. I swung my blade wide as I skirted the horde and wounded one and killed another with the swing. It got easier to wield the blade the more I used it, perhaps due to my strength stat increasing as we went?

Running around to bunch up the mobs and take them out piecewise was the thing we called the Shark Tactic in the Megaman Legends series. The mob a.i.s were so simplistic before that the lesser mobs followed a singular behavior of must be close enough to attack. It was easily exploited by running around but was only effective in large rooms.

Here wasn't any different, since that game also had a sword weapon if you felt like going Zero. Actually, a magic sword sounds like an awesome thing right about now, maybe Gareth would know more, and if not him then Tsubaki.

The horde thinned out until only two were left, so I dropped the great sword and equipped my short sword and shield. I ran straight for them and waited with shield at the ready, then took a swing straight for my head with it.

It brought me to my knees.

"Holy shit!" It was a good thing I didn't get hit by those earlier.

"Thomas!" Riine said.

"He does that all the time," Gareth said.

I shook off the shock and checked the shield out, and at least it didn't get too bent out of shape. I then rushed the two orcs and bashed one in the nards with the shield and disemboweled the other with the sword before rolling out of the way. The one I hit was unfazed. No genitals then. It fell a moment later when I stabbed it enough times.

Gareth and Riine walked over with the former carrying the sword. He passed me the blade after I put the short sword and shield away. "Make sure Tsubaki never finds out you do this," he said with a sigh.

"Eh?"

"She really likes her weapons."

"I see." Noted.

Riine helped me gather the magic crystals and we filled another small bag like earlier with the occasional orc hide and hard armored shell. These materials weren't great, but with enough of them it was possible to refine enough adamantite for something respectable. We had lunch while waiting for the spawn rate to kick up again with Gareth so casually defending the campsite with his improvised orc weapon. He was swinging the first orc that came for him by its legs at the other orcs.

"How come I never thought of this before," Gareth said while shaking his head.

"When you consider it, all you really need to do is hit the monster as hard as you can with the least amount of risk to you."

"Aye," Gareth said. He then threw the orc so hard it just mowed a line through the coming horde and crushed a ton of trees in its way. That was what a level six could do when they were dicking around. And Ottar was a level seven.

I then took Gareth's place to meet the monsters and did the same Shark Tactic as before. Killing the group one monster at a time while making sure to keep my distance. The stones were much larger here, so the gold efficiency was much better, and the monsters were harder to kill since they needed more effort. Yes, they were slower, but the higher risk that came with their power made it more dangerous. What's good though was it didn't take as much magic as the swarms from the seventh floor.

The horde thinned out and me and Riine started cleaning up the stones and drops. We were getting such a good haul, but this was still nothing compared to what the familia made on their deeper excavations.

"Twenty-six more days feels like such a long time."

"It's not," Gareth said, "and you'd be surprised at how fast it comes."

"It's just been four days," Riine said, "and yet I'm back in the dungeon again." She sighed. "Its better than the lower floors though. There, everything is out to get you."

"That bad?"

Riine nodded. "After the thirteenth floor, these holes open up in the Dungeon that force you to the lower floors."

"Really?"

"Thomas," Gareth said. "Those are not shortcuts."

"Sure they are."

"Wait, no," Riine said. "Those deposit you into a monster party if you're lucky, and deeper if you're not." She frowned. "And it's not unheard of for trap chutes to be next to one another."

"If you survive the drops, then you cut a lot of time off your travel."

"If you survive," Gareth said.

"So, how durable is a level one's body?"

"We're not doing this Thomas," Gareth said, and moved on for the stairs. "Ask Finn later."

"Oh, spoil my fun."

The twelfth floor was similar to the eleventh floor, but the mists now reached as high as my shoulder. Visibility was shit with barely any light reaching the ceiling, and the bright glow of the ground made the place look like a sea of smoke. It was only thanks to the mists that I saw the fist coming for me in time to give my shoulder instead of my head.

I flew into a tree and got the wind knocked out of me.

"Thomas!" Gareth said. "Look alive!"

"I know!" I rolled away with great sword at the ready. Fluid dripped down my helmet. I touched it. It was green and smelled like dead bug. Oh, yeah. I quickly removed the dead moth off my helmet and took its stone and was relieved of the horrible stench.

"Silverbacks move fast, stay on your toes!" Riine said.

I had to roll out of the way as the mists parted. Damn. "I can't see them!"

"They have white fur!" Gareth said.

"Well shit!" No fucking wonder! Everywhere else was too dim and the lit up floor made everything else look white. Not even shadows showed up properly because the light came from the ground.

I sheathed the great sword and switched it for the short sword and shield. "Madness," I called, and wrapped myself with my magic.

The mists coiled. I put my shield up and out came a large greyish fist. I blocked it and wasn't pushed as hard, but still enough to make my boots skid back along the ground. Its silhouette came into view and raised two arms before crashing them down like hammers.

I dodged but was swept by one of its arms and crashed into another tree. Pain shot through my sides when I breathed in, and I might've cracked a rib. I called on my magic and let it swell, before dispelling Despair. "Taken from the peace of home." I blocked the fist at an angle and jumped back. "I now stand beyond the veil." I put up the shield and ran into the same direction. "The aberrant demands reparation."

Black light exploded from my body and I felt the trickle of power from the spell.

"Shit." I met that fist again and was thrown back. "Madness!" I gathered the magic into my blade and charged. The fist came once more but this time instead of block or dodging I stepped into it with my sword forward. The blade touched the fur and cut where it passed but the arm kept going. That's when I saw what it belonged to: a large gorilla way bigger than the orc and ensnared by Despair.

Fuck. Going for the shield was a terrible idea. This damned thing was smart enough to hide in the mists and use hit and run tactics. I was bound to lose if I kept this up. I sheathed my short sword before dodging its punch by going forward. "Taken from the peace of home." It brought both hands up and crashed them down, and I dodged to the immediate right with a roll. "I now stand beyond the veil." I recovered by pulling the great sword from the harness. "The aberrant demands reparation." My magic reached out just as I replaced my shield.

The silverback jumped away, the black wave only catching its leg.

I sprinted after it with sword at the ready. "Madness!" I called before slashing at it and caught the beast by the thigh.

The gorilla turned back, one hand clutched at its leg. It looked at me with blood red eyes. Right now, the only big thing in my mind was how I wasn't dead yet with a horde of these coming for me. Hopefully, Gareth and Riine were keeping the others from getting to me. This thing was completely different from everything else on the higher floors.

I really should've stuck to the great sword.

The gorilla charged and punched when he neared. I answered its attack with a chop from the side and crushed some of its fingers, but the sword was flung from my hands. Fuck. I weaved back just enough to avoid its back hand and unsheathed the short sword into a reversed slash. I wounded its arm, but it barely bled. It stopped long enough for me to run back to the other sword.

I picked it up and charged back in.

The silverback swept its good arm and I slashed at it. But had to dodge its bad arm thrown like a whip with a big jump.

I got smashed into the ground and bounced away. I couldn't take much more of this, not for longer. I needed to win. "Dammit!" I threw away the great sword and got the shorter one in one hand and took my knife in the other. Slashing at it wasn't getting me anywhere, whether its hide was too strong, or I was too weak didn't matter, and stabbing it with the clumsy weapon was just asking for a beating. It was time to get up close and personal.

"Your ass is grass!" I ran for the monkey without a care for defense, the two blades held in reverse.

The silverback brought its hands up and still I ran straight. It clapped its hands, but I jumped towards its good arm and got to its flank. It tried to jump away but I dove for its body with my blades pointed into its flesh.

My short sword caught in its other thigh and I was bodily dragged over. It moved to crush me, but I stabbed in with my knife to pull me closer to its body, barely avoiding the blow that would've caved my head in.

The silverback scrambled for a hold on my body but I kept stabbing and pulling at it, moving myself away just enough to avoid, stabbing and opening holes up in it with each stab. It then rolled over to drive me off but here in the ground was where I knew best to move. All those ground-fighting drills I had to put up with with Robert taught me enough how to feel for my opponent, and a titanic monkey was no better than a human. Muscles pulled before anything else, and it was these impulses I relied on to keep my relentless attack going.

We rolled around along the ground with the ape screaming all manners of horrible.

I stabbed it in the back, in its legs, in its arms, and it'd get lucky elbowing me at times or catching me on the ground. But it was the one bleeding out, and I still had my magic. "Taken from the peace of home." I moved out of the way when it jumped into the ground. "I now stand beyond the veil." The monkey ran backwards into a tree, and I pulled myself away with a stab to its rib. "The aberrant demands reparation."

My black light exploded. The monster disintegrated.

I landed on my face.

#

When I came to, Gareth was carrying me on his back.

"Glad to have you back, Thomas," he said. Riine was in front with my short sword and beating back the orcs and hard armoreds without killing any of them. "We brought you back to the eleventh floor, figured you'd rather use your magic to heal. It saves us using a potion too."

He let me off and I saw he had the great sword strapped to his back. "Thank you, Gareth." He passed me the sword.

"Let's talk about going back up after."

I joined Riine who nodded back. I let my magic swell as I said the spell words, "Taken from the peace of home. I now stand beyond the veil." I gestured for Riine to get away as I dove into the horde. "The aberrant demands reparation."

The black light swallowed the orcs and hard armoreds, leaving only a couple of hides and three shells behind. I also felt so much better after my spell that the pain in my sides seemed more like a memory now than something I just got a few minutes ago. I jogged back to the two.

"That hit the spot."

He nodded and Riine smiled back. "How was the twelfth floor?" Gareth said.

"Do silverbacks come in hordes like that?"

"Aye," Gareth said, "a lot of adventurers power through the twelfth floor and prefer the thirteenth onwards."

"I see."

"We should get back to the manor," he added. "Your magic heals you, but its best to have you checked to be sure."

It wasn't really up for discussion and I wasn't about to complain either. The pain was gone, but there was still some lingering weakness from having been in pain for so long. It was best to concede for now, the haul before we met the silverback was already pretty good. And I was making good progress if I could take that many hits from that gorilla and live to complain about it.

We went to the guild first to exchange our crystals and got a whopping forty-six thousand Varis and change, then dropped off my monster loot at Tsubaki's. She didn't ask any questions, only to see my knife and other weapons to sharpen them. She also asked me to leave my shield behind so she could work on it. Before we left, I also asked for a quote to have a war hammer made.

That last fight with the silverback made me reconsider my choice of fighting with a great sword. I was fighting monsters with a weapon made to fight humans. If I were that concerned with the off chance of fighting a person, then it was easier to carry the short sword like I was doing now. I described to her a small war hammer with one side blunt and the other ending with a pick-like point. The blunt side was for breaking, and the pick was for stabbing. I could also use them to hook at or into flesh with enough force.

When we finished the discussion, Gareth stood there shaking his head while Tsubaki shook my hand repeatedly, thankful for the insight. Turns out the blacksmiths were given these divine designs from the gods and that was why swords and axes became the norm for adventurers. Riine had a difficult expression on, and called the weapon vicious, but Tsubaki corrected her saying it was genius.

We said our goodbyes after and passed by the Dian Cecht pharmacy. The clinic was on the second floor and Dian Cecht himself signed off on a clean bill of health for me. Though he did say I should go out more in the sunlight.

Baffled but satisfied, Gareth led the way back home with the sun still up.

#

When we got back, Loki dragged me into her room, and Gareth was only too happy to sic her on me.

She had me lying on her bed with my shirt off and her on top of me faster than I could say time out. I wanted to at least shower first but she wouldn't have any of it. With each stroke she twitched before sinking her nails deeper into my back.

"You dragged a killer ant all the way from the start of the seventh floor to the stairs and threw yourself at the lot of them. That's normally called a pass parade if you're doing it to screw someone else over but you did it to yourself!" Loki screeched. "And what is up with this absurd magic healing you and restoring mana! This darn thing's just enabling your idiocies!"

Her hands danced and pinched my sides, and I was deeply thankful for the wonders of an enhanced endurance stat.

"And who the hell goes one on one against a twelfth floor monster?!" She slapped the paper against my back and made me stand. "You just got here five days ago! Five!"

"Gareth had the same reaction."

"No duh, Tom."

#

Level 1

Strength = I 47 -> H 117

Endurance = I 60 -> H 140

Dexterity = I 88 -> G 205

Agility = I 38 -> I 87

Magic = I 117 -> G 257

Madness Spectrum = I

Tranquil Intervention = I

World Walker = I

Fated Actor = I

Magic

Answered Prayer = Allows two-way communication with one's patron god or goddess with Mind consumption based on distance. Chantless Magic.

Despair = An enchant magic that steeps the user's attacks with the chaos of the World Boundary and enfeebles targets when attacked. Has a chance to inflict madness, fear, or confusion. Chant: "Madness"

Saudade = An area of effect drain spell that takes the magic and life force contained in all within range and transfers it to the user. Targets stronger than the user are able to resist having their magic and life stolen. Has a five-meter radius, and a chance to inflict madness, fear, or confusion. Chant: "Taken from the peace of home / I now stand beyond the veil / The aberrant demands reparation"

Skill

Babel Jack = Allows automatic translation of written and verbal information to some understandable form to the user.

#

"I want to bite you," she said before clutching her head. "I also want to keep you safe but you're just going and getting your ass handed to you in ways you devised yourself!" She gestured at her head. "You tied a poison moth to your head." She stopped pacing. "That was honestly funny—and smart." She chuckled, then shook her head. "Wait, I'm supposed to be mad at you!"

I moved to hug her, but Loki dodged. "And you smell like crap," she said, holding onto her nose. "Go and take a bath already!"

"But you wanted me to—"

She stopped me from talking and kicked me out of her room, throwing her covers at my topless self. "And get those washed too!"

How timely was it that Tione just had to see? "Got kicked out of bed?" she asked with a smirk.

"I went into the wrong hole."

She hit her head on the wall. "Why do I keep talking to you?!"

"You walked into that one, Tione."

She then forcibly calmed herself down. "The laundry room is in the second floor," she said with a forced smile.

"Thanks, Tione!" I then went on my way—but not before I dropped my status sheet.

I hid behind the hall and waited.

Tione screamed.

Damn, I should've baited her with a bet.

I went down the stairs and saw Narvi on laundry duty. I promised her some cake as I dropped off Loki's stuff for her and went up to the fourth floor to my room. I took a quick shower and got dressed in a spare set of clothes I borrowed from Raul. With the sun still up, it was a good time to go shopping for some stuff I'd need like extra clothes and dungeon gear. Soap and shampoo, maybe a magic tool if I could afford one just for the sheer novelty of it.

With a heavy purse, I went down to the living room to see who could show me around.

The only one there was Bete. He looked at me funny. "What do you want?"

I shrugged. "Someone to show me where the shops are, I still don't have any clothes of my own."

He tsked. "Ask someone else."

I shrugged—and saw Tiona. "Hey Tiona!" She turned. "You mind showing me around Orario? I need to buy a few things."

"Sure," she said, "I wasn't doing anything anyway." She grinned. "But you have to buy me food."

That's when Tione, Lefiya, Aiz, and Lefiya came down. "You ready to go?" Tione asked—then saw me.

"Let's take Thomas with us," Tiona said. "He needs clothes too."

No one really objected so I tagged along.

We visited various shops for women's clothes and the Amazoness specialty one had bikinis of all shapes and styles. The Elven clothes shop was all frilly and gothic, and it took a while for them to pick out something Aiz looked normal in. She eventually settled for a white dress with a purple skirt which Lefiya treated her to. After that was my stuff and I got some more tunics in assorted colors, and pants of the same kind I was already wearing.

I also got a sturdy pair of boots for dungeon diving and some loafers from the god's specialty shop that featured clothes from different countries and eras. It was a strange place, but the shoes and other shirts were good. I also got myself a few cotton t-shirts and some boxer shorts. If I'd known of this place before buying then I would've gotten all my stuff here, but alas, it probably would've been a bad idea.

Satisfied, we ended our shopping trip with a quick visit to this jagamarukun stall manned by Hestia. She was happily selling the stuff and who was I to think otherwise.

"It's the flat-lover!" she said, pointing at me. She then eyed our group and pointed at Tiona. "And you're probably two-timing too with that ironing board!"

"Err, goddess Hestia," I said, "we're only here for food."

She narrowed her eyes at me then gave Aiz the stink-eye. "You and Aiz-what's her name eh." She clicked her tongue. "Hurry up then, I don't have all day."

There was a lot of hostility from her but it was a mostly harmless thing. Freya was dangerous without even being pissed and this was a puppy in a stroller compared to that.

We bought some normal bacon and cheese flavored ones but Aiz got herself a green tea flavored one. These were spiced mashed potatoes and fried into a bun. That was just… so weird. I guess that's something she shared with Loki.

We then went back home and dinner came not long after, and the day ended just like that.