Chapter 12 - Steps.

Thinking back on her recruitment of Arius, Loki could not keep her mind off the weird-tree Falna. *what God is related to trees, It cant be Phaunos, he's dead and Silvanus is still messing around in heaven. could it be something different? but that would break all common sense. if something other than a god 'could' give a falna then what?*

meanwhile, in brand-new clothes and with slight worries for his safety, Arius was making his way towards the Dungeon under the tower of Babylon. making the journey down the spiral stairs into the dungeon, Arius came to a brief stop before continuing his reckless running around until he found some goblins, which he recognized. *Easy*

charging the goblins without even taking his bow out, Arius was confident in his skill to beat goblins at this point. but due to his lack of skill with the Dungeons mechanics, Arius was in for a surprise.

the trio of goblins immediately spread out and responded to Arius's charge with one of their own. not expecting this Arius tripped out of surprise and rolled past the trio of goblins, but failing to strand op in time Arius got a slash to the ribs before going in with a stab. Arius ignored the pain thanks to [Pain resistance] G and rapidly stood up and tried to create some distance with the goblins.

plans failing after another Arius was now being chased by a group of three scrawny goblins who had an IQ of 70, and rusty weapons.

attempting to shoot while running away in a kiting{1} manner Arius hit one of the goblins, quickly regaining his calm. soon the trio of goblins was dead as the stone they lay on.

{1} kiting: a term used in gaming to describe a method in which a player draws aggression from a monster and runs while slowly dealing damage to the chasing party.

but before Arius could rest from his chase once again more goblins came at him the same process repeated. *Magic~ magic~ magic stone for meeeeee...* Arius was humming while collecting his spoils of 'war'.

"hey bro this should be enough hunting for a while right?"

"ya, it should be fine if you go back up"

Finding his way back up to the surface and into orario from the dungeon, Arius dashed towards the adventurers guild. being midday there was a slight wait before Arius got to the counter where someone he recognized from his time of reading manga, Eina the same half-elf that helped him last time.

"How may I help you this time?" Eina asked with a friendly smile.

"Hi... can I turn these magic stones in for some valis, please"

"yep," Eina stated before taking over the magic cores and inspecting third quality with some tools and after a few seconds came back with an answer. "I can give you 3,900V for this"

(V = valis like when you have 100$. 1V = 00.3¢)

"thanks" grabbing his Valis Arius moved on from the building when his stomach disturbed him all of a sudden. *well, guess I need some food haha...*

on his way towards the closest tavern, Arius overheard a nearby conversation witch reminded him of a popular tavern from the manga of this universe. the hostess of fertility!

[hostess of fertility]

[Mission difficulty: I

[description; enter the hostess of fertility and not only taste their 'divine' food but interact with the workers

[progress 0/2

*well, that was unexpected* changing course for the hostess of fertility, Arius put on his old cloak and dazzlingly jumped across the rooftops, enjoying the wind plus view combo that would make anyone happy.

approaching the hostess of fertility, Arius slowed down and walked into the esteemed tavern, finding a seat and sitting down. within a few seconds, a black-haired cat-girl with short cut hair, walked up to the table in a green dress-like outfit with a white apron over top, with a bonus of an orange ribbon tying the outfit together near the collar bone.

"Nya~, I'm Chloe, what can I get you?"

"Ah, um.... what do you think I should get." Arius was caught in a situation where he didn't know the menu but was asked what he wanted! it was like asking a 6-year-old how they would like their steak, they would have no clue.

"hmm, the baked apple with assorted veggies is pretty good and cheap to boot at only 60V."

"mm, can I get that please?" after placing his order Arius thought back to Chloe's ears, the cat ears atop her head to be specific. *they looked soft. they have to be soft.* being firm in his decision Arius waited for his food to arrive.

coming only a few minutes later, the meals smelled scrumptious.

Chloe put the baked apple with assorted vegetables down and spoke to Arius "here is your order," before immediately yelling back to the tall dwarf lady behind the counter. "mama mia, I'm taking a quick break nya~."

quickly sitting down across from the 14-year-old Arius Chloe picked up one of the apple pieces and skillfully tossed it towards Arius who in turn like an agile fighter moved to intercept the baked apple, successfully being enamored by the apple piece. *it melts in the mouth but has just enough shape to not have a bad texture*

Chloe was watching this with her own thoughts right across from Arius. speaking of the devil, Arius after finishing the baked apple quickly asked Chloe "can I touch your ears?"

"ehhhh! why would you ask such a thing?" Chloe was shocked and acted slightly offended by an overdramatic performance.

"um, well they looked soft and... and I wanted to see if they were."Arius, feeling guilty due to her reaction replied timidly.

"mm, fine but just this once!" Chloe agreed with the prospect. and with such confirmation, a smile formed on Arius's face as he reached out to give Chloe the equivalent of a head pat, right on the head.

"now that you have done that let me tell you...

+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+

thanks for reading this chapter! voting on my novel helps and it is much appreciated! comment anything you think I could improve on and don't forget to stay happy!