Camp

Finn squeezed the top of his nose as he squinted a little, trying to get his thoughts in order. When looked up, his eyes looked glossy while his cheeks turned red a little from the turmoil broiling inside him at that moment.

"Let me get this straight. You just defeated Goliath. A monster rex. With. One. Blow."

"Yep." Lyze chirped.

"How?" Riveria asked as she held her arms out to emphasise. "Have you ever been capable of that before?"

"No." Lyze shrugged. "At least not before now."

"Forget that." Noir annoyedly waved away the direction the conversation was taking. "What I would like to know is how you cut the beast in half, but you managed to leave the core without a scratch."

The old man pointed to the giant monster core which was glistening like a giant gemstone in the pale light that bounced of the crystalline walls.

"Simple. It's the result of my new skill which Loki added to my Falna." Lyze held up a finger as he grinned. "Disaster. The ability to amplify or to reduce effects. I can a make any injury a life threatening or killing wound or reduce it to a small scratch, if nothing at all." Lyze held up Excalibur. "I just had to make a singular cut down the bastard's back. All that was then left for me to do was activate my ability and then he found himself looking in two different directions at the same time. And the core is unharmed because I targeted the flesh, not the stone."

"So literally all you have to do now is to just scratch a monster, then you can just kill it then and there without even touching it any more?" Bara clarified as the whole squad looked up at him jaw-dropped.

"Pretty much." Lyze shrugged as he put a hand on the core and it disappeared in a purple flash. "Of course I haven't been able to exactly test out the limits of this new ability and how far it can actually take me but so far, everything has been going according to plan."

"...Is there even a point to powerful weapons for him any more?" Tsubaki breathed as she stumbled back a bit in her stupor. All the motivation and pride she was feeling just a moment ago felt like it was suddenly sucked out of her by this revelation.

If he could just kill a monster by simply wanting it dead, what need was there to craft him armour and weapons anymore?

Finn seemed to recover first as distant voices and the familiar creaking of wheels approached them as the support group along with the supply carrier finally made their way to the boss room. They all looked around, clearly seeing the shattered Wall but no sign of the monster rex anywhere.

"Huh, where'd the big naked bastard go?"

"Yeah, I swear I was hearing some noise up here a bit ago. You don't think they've already gotten rid of it have you?"

"That's our top adventurers for you! They can do anything!"

"Dude, you're not even from our Familia. You're a hired supporter for the Hephaestus Familia, and a kiss-ass to boot."

"HAH?!! You want to go like that punk!"

"You want some too then? How about we throw down here?!"

"AHEM!" Finn coughed, his face still a little red from agitation, silencing those that were just arguing right now. "As...effective as that was Lyze, I have to admit I'm disappointed. I was hoping to finally see how you go up against a monster rex on your lonesome using skill and tactic instead of an extremely convenient skill." He said to the boy, who only shrugged his shoulders in reply. "But then again, I probably should expect no less from you by this point. You appear to live to contradict our common sense." Finn shook his head as everybody else barring Ais appeared to give Lyze the stink-eye.

"Come on. Why are you all looking at me like that for?" Lyze tried to reason. "On the bright side! We get to set up camp early. I'm sure with the extra light we have, we'll be able to get our meals ready and have an early night, so we can reach Rivira even earlier than the norm. And thanks to my efforts during the middle-floor excursion and with the quick dispatch of Mr Booty-Bare-Butt, we've barely used much of our rations and we're ahead of schedule."

Their stares narrowed even further before Dain appeared to speak and his hairy beard wobbled as his invisible mouth moved.

"Kid's got a point. At this rate, we've cut down our time down by half a day at least. We should be glad. Plus the undamaged core of a monster rex is bound to get us over a hundred million valis. An eighth already of what we make from these dives. Secured by the little lad."

"I'm not mad, if that's what you're concerned about." Finn said calmly. "I would just appreciate it if I was notified that my common sense was about to be shattered before it happens." He gave Lyze a dry look before shaking his head and turning to address the rest of their expedition team whom had now all gathered at this point in the boss room. "We're moving down wards to the 18th floor. Once we're there, the same set-up as usual. Tents go up and fires go on. First round of night-watch, you're on. And open the first pack of rations."

"AYE!" Came the collective acknowledgement of the Loki Familia as they heeded their captain. Most of them were pleased that they'd managed to get here on time after all. It meant less having to rush around and more time to spend drinking around a campfire while they exchanged stories or gambled.

"Come on team. Let's get on with it." Finn said as he moved past Lyze and began descending down the slippery slope to the safe zone. The others followed suit, not even acknowledging him as they slid down after their captain.

"I can't help but feel I'm being given the cold shoulder here, no matter how much you all tell me otherwise." Lyze grumbled before he felt someone shyly clutch his arm. He turned to see Ais looking up at him with the best smile she could put on.

"I thought it was cool." She said, although her voice was a little strained. It seemed that even she was not completely sure how to receive her comrades as well.

Lyze took no notice of the carts and the adventurers that were slowly passing the pair. He merely stared at the little girl before he gained a small frown on his face and his cheeks felt a little warm. "Thanks...I guess."

Ais suddenly held up his hand to her chest and stared at him intently, stars in her eyes as her mouth was open in the typical kuudere starstruck expression.

"Teach me!"

"...No."

---

Drinks sloshed and laughter bellowed around as Lyze walked up to the cauldron were the cook was spooning ladles of some sort of Forager's soup along with chunks of meat into a wooden bowl. Lyze took his portion and decided to go and sit over where the executive group was stationed in front of the largest tent.

Gareth's nose was slightly red from the drinking but it was little effect on the body of a heavily built dwarf like him. He shuffled a little bit to the side as Lyze sat down next to him in front of the crackling woodfire.

The adults were chatting around with one another, exchanging bits of gossip and information they'd heard on the surface before descending down into the dungeon. Lyze managed to have come just at the end of such a topic when sat down.

"Really?" Finn seemed to ask.

"Yeah." Tsubaki replied as she leaned back on one hand and stretched out a leg. "Because of the whirlpool's strong current, they've had to completely map out a new shipping route to get to the docks. The supply line was impeded and held back a full two days as the crews tried to navigate around it. Not only that, but the new recruits who were supposed to be coming in from overseas were on board as well. So we won't be seeing them for a longer while yet."

"What have I missed?" Lyze asked as he crunched down on the slightly bitter roots in his soup. The broth was not particularly flavoursome but it had a nice sort of refreshing taste. Lyze was of the opinion it would taste better cold than hot.

"Haven't you heard?" Bara said as she drank from her tankard. The Amazon had no care for how she sat and her chocolate toned legs were stretched out fully, invading other's spaces as her ankle-bracelets rattled.

"Apparently some giant hole appeared in the ocean floor of the Eastern sea." Noir said as he chewed on dried meat. "Its sudden appearance has water draining down into it and it's created a large maelstrom that has swallowed in much of the underwater terrain around it. Like one big sinkhole in a giant bathtub. Because of that, ships have had to steer around it without getting caught in in the currents and being swallowed into oblivion."

"Yep. As a result, a lot of overseas import hasn't been able to make it to land yet and transported to the city. We were also expecting to take on some new personnel. But alas, due to the world's newest mysterious phenomenon, we've been set back a couple of weeks when we should have had it all done and dusted by now." Tsubaki grumbled as she shrugged her shoulders.

Lyze said nothing as he dug into his meal, trying his best not to look extremely guilty in front of his Familia, lest they start questioning him. Regardless, his silence made Riveria give him a suspicious side-eye. The very day this new phenomenon had supposedly turned up, she'd gotten that feeling she usually got when Lyze was up to something and she did not like how he was suddenly quiet upon the mention of this particular subject.

Before she could say anything though, she was interrupted as Finn interjected with a curiosity of his own.

"Say Lyze."

"Hm?"

"I've been meaning to ask you for some time now but...are you sure your family were that soaked up in poverty as you say they were?"

"Yes." Lyze replied confused. "What's so confusing about that?"

Finn pointed a finger at Lyze's mouth.

"'That'. It's your accent."

"What about my accent?"

"It's just...different. I usually hear it from people a little more east of here. Pompous and rich people most of the time."

"How so?"

"Well, you pronounce your T's more clearly. There's also a sort of airiness to your voice, and overall it just sounds rather different."

Lyze's brow furrowed even more before he paid attention to Finn's own accent and suddenly realizing what it was. He rolled his eyes. Thankfully the characters here did not speak Japanese and spoke like their dub versions. The thing was though, anime was almost always voiced by Americans when they gave an English dub.

Once upon a time, Lyze supposed he spoke the same way but when his past self resurfaced again, his accent changed...back to his normal British accent. What was it with Americans and the British accent? Where did they get off thinking it was pompous and posh?

If they'd actually heard what posh sounded like, they'd have an aneurysm because it was appalling even to the ears of the Brits. But yes, Lyze only now realized exactly how much more different he was again.

"My master spoke like this. And I lived with him quite a long time, so I guess it just grew on me." Lyze replied. Finn and the others nodded before deciding not to speak any further on the matter. Everyone knew by now not to question any further on Lyze's past due to Loki's warnings and urgings. With that, Gareth shifted the topic.

"They say Evilus has been kicking up a little lately." The dwarf said gruffly. At the mention of the cult, the mood dropped significantly and everybody assumed an air of seriousness. Evilus was hated just as much for its ability to slip under the radar as much as the ideology it preached was hated. The top Familias had all been searching out the root of the organisation but every lead went cold after investigation. The bastards were too slippery a fish to catch.

"Yeah. Come to think of it, I heard something from the Ganesha Familia." Tsubaki commented as she put her flask down. "They think Evilus has established bases in Rivira as well. Bors has been trying to stamp them out but they're just as crafty here as they are on the surface."

"If only we could find exactly which gods are endorsing them and acting as the ringleaders." Riveria said as she sighed. "We could take out each and every Familia in a singular day if that were the case."

"Things are rarely ever that easy." Finn said. "They've been around always, even when we first came to Orario. The trouble is that ever since Zeus and Hera were weakened, there's not been many around with the capabilities to supress them by fear alone. As a result, the rats have grown a lot braver."

"Tell me about it." Bara said as she leaned back on her palms and looked up at the crystal ceiling. "Each of those Familia were so powerful, on an average they had 50 level 7s, all exceptionally strong. And some of those were just second liners. Don't get me started on what their core divers were like."

"A bunch of right monsters all of them." Noir said. "How else could they kill the Behemoth and the Leviathan? It took the Black Dragon, the most powerful monster of all to kill them off and even then some of them survived."

"But it tells you how much Orario has been weakened." Bara said. "Forget about Evilus. That shithead Ares is attacking more frequently as well, on a yearly basis even. When a loser like that suddenly gets so brave, that's when you know things are bad."

"You got that right." Finn sighed as he felt the shame bear down upon him. "Now there's not a single level 7 in Orario at all. There's never been a level 7 in our Familia or Freya's either. We're not even level 6. Currently the only one close enough to reaching Level 7 is Ottar...and he began adventuring later than when we did."

"Not to worry. Our Familia won't be deprived of a level 7 for very long." Lyze cheered.

Everyone gave him a questioning look.

"What do you mean?" Ais asked. 

"Because I'll be the first Level 7 of the Loki Familia." Lyze pointed at himself. 

"I encourage the self-confidence but I don't condone arrogance Lyze." Finn smiled. "Even if you're a prodigy, we still have a lot more experience than you do and we're a few levels ahead. I'd say we are closer to that goal than you are."

"Come on. You've seen how fast I can grow. Level gaps won't mean anything."

"It gets significantly harder to level up once you breach those heights." Finn said, chuckling a little. "Especially after level 5. There's a reason why we're called first class. Because anything beyond reaches into special class. You're not going to walk out of this expedition all ready to level up to level 4 Lyze. Even for you that's impossible."

"JINX!" Lyze snapped.

""What?"" Everyone said. 

"I jinxed you." Lyze explained, still looking at Finn. "You said I can't. Now that I've invoked the power of the jinx, I will walk out of this dungeon ready to level up again. You watch if I don't."

"I didn't take you for one to believe in superstitions Lyze." Noir said. 

"I don't. I'm just saying it for the fun of it." Lyze laughed before he became serious all of a sudden. "However, I'm not joking about becoming stronger. When it comes to this subject, I don't joke around. Even if I don't become the first Level 7 of the Loki Familia, I will still reach those heights. Nothing will stop me, not even the standards you set with your own records...which I've already broken TWICE now if you've forgotten."

Nobody said anything for a few seconds. The top three were reminded of their conversation with Loki and they saw that their goddess was right. Lyze did indeed have a burning thirst for strength and he had the immense drive necessary to achieve it. The confidence he radiated did not have a hint of vanity in it. The boy sincerely believed that he would do it, let alone being capable of it. The odds of becoming a level 7 was extremely low and extremely difficult to get by. The things you had to put yourself through to even get to 5 which was the very beginning of that level of prowess that made you legendary, it took special individuals to make it that far.

But at the red-head's insistence that Lyze was that kind of individual, the executives couldn't really find many points to refute that possibility. His swift defeat of Goliath not too long ago still weighed fresh upon their minds, especially Riveria.

She had been witness to the boy's first fight against the massive brute and even though he won last time, it had been at quite high a cost. This time around though, it seemed like it took barely any effort on Lyze's end. One minute the giant was there, and then the next it wasn't.

Lyze was strange, and he was ambitious. But he was strong. To be able to fight with the raw physical power of high level adventurers while only level 3 was a large statement of itself. Some among the vanguard believed that even they could not compete with him now. Putting aside his bizarre magic, the raw strength in the boy's body alone was enough to make them think twice.

As much as they tried to give off the opposite impression, not many among them disagreed with the boy.

"By the way Finn." Lyze said. "I've never encountered Evilus members anywhere even though they're supposed to be super active. What exactly do they look like?"

"Well when it comes to those higher in ranks, they tend to wear armour and special equipment, as well as carry around special weapons." Finn said. "But when you speak about the common footsoldiers of the group, usually they wear black cloaks with hoods and tanned leather amor since they're small fry and not worth equipping."

"...So they're literally 'Black and Tans'." Lyze smirked.

The Loki Familia drew back a little feeling like the boy was referencing something.

"What?" Riveria asked, suddenly feeling as if she wouldn't like what she would hear next.

"Oh nothing...just if I see them scuttling around wanting a fight, I'll just go..." Lyze suddenly began drumming the bottom of his tankard as he sang in yet another weird accent.

"~COME OUT YE BLACK AND TANS, COME OUT AND FIGHT ME LIKE A MAN!~..."

And thus Lyze lapsed into a bad habit from his past life...singing rebel songs that would make his fellow Englishman upset. But Alex never cared and neither did Lyze...although Riveria felt a sudden urge to throw her bowl at his head...which she did...

...which did not end well.

But even so, Lyze liked the Irish and so he would not stop singing their favourite songs.

"~BUT EVERY MAN SHOULD STAND BEHIND THE MEN BEHIND THE WIIIIIIIRRRREEEE!~"

At least whatever nonsense he was singing made for a good drinking song. That was the men's opinion at least. Ais just smiled and clapped a little, enjoying a rare moment of seeing Lyze so openly enjoying himself even if what he was doing was weird.

These small happiness made the impending time of hardship and terror that much more bearable to anticipate. They were in the belly of the beast after all, and the Dungeon thirsted for blood. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Comment and Review!

Read ahead on my Patreon:

Patreon/ Vulkizaro_Zoromi

For commissions:

Ko-Fi/ vulkizarozoromi