Lyze's Musings (2)

Shout out to my patrons:

Miso

BrotherbladeZed

Mat Roberts

DreXy

Jemarco Ballard

King

Mitchell Middleditch

You are all bloody legends!

I've finally settled into University. Now I can turn my attention back to writing. Enjoy!

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

(Lyze POV)

I pulled off my tunic in front of my mirrors as I got about to sorting my hair. A few days had passed since the night Riveria had conducted a full blown interrogation of me on the existence of that charity.

I didn't know whether to curse Freya or praise her for keeping to her promise and helping the people who needed it. Freya was very influential, and of course with that came the kiss-asses or fanatics that wanted to mirror her every move. The announcement of this charity fund raiser, and the information on the Freya Familia being the first supporters (after the rest of the Loki Familia of course) spurred the lesser Familias to impart a small amount of money as well to the cause in case the public began questioning things.

I mean I guess the top two Familias supporting a movement like this pretty much compelled the rest of the to go along anyway. And it brought me a lot of rep points as well. My popularity had boomed once again at the announcement of my new level up. Level 2 in a day and Level 3 three weeks later?

Obviously such an achievement was simply unheard of and caused quite a lot of people to become excited in both good and bad ways. I got a lot more attention on the streets from civilians and kids seemed to be tailing me in awe. Of course there came another onslaught of angry and jealous idiots raving about how it was a set up and such a thing was impossible.

But then the more 'intellectual' people began to reason that the Freya Familia with their prestige would not support the movement that had a fraud's name written over it, so therefore the level up had to be genuine. I mean it was a compelling argument to be fair but why look in so deep man?

I'd become a celebrity, and of course this brought in even more support from the general public towards the fundraiser. I also had to sign a few documents with handlers and the like, to make sure the money was going where it was said it was going. Already some foundations were being dug out for a new workhouse.

Typical of the government to prioritise the building of an establishment that would bring them profit first. It was basically cheap labour with just as much reward as the normal workforce reapings. No whisper of the orphanages I'd emphasised being built but in due time they said.

And of course because I was more well known at this point, people began to notice when I would visit Daedalus to check up on dear old Maria and her orphans. I guess it might be odd for me to keep saying her name but never having narrated my exact involvement with her.

Well to be frank, it obviously goes back to before I reawakened my memories but the lovely bachelorette had often been very kind to me in the past, giving me morsels of food when I was hungry in the streets. There was no room in her orphanage for anyone else but her heart was so tender towards orphan children and children in general that she even gave food to kids outside the orphanage, what little could be spared anyway. It was better than nothing.

She honestly deserved better she did. I wondered exactly how long she'd been caring for orphans before canon. Anyway, me being seen actually going to Daedalus sort of gave more credibility to the charity's motion and so more supporters could be found for it. I'd already heard some parents around saying to their kids to take me as a role model and someone to take lessons from as I went out of my way to keep to promises as big as this.

I mean I didn't make that promise first of all, it was Freya who did it without asking my permission. And second, I was the last person anybody should be taking as a role model. Someone who enjoyed carving a man's lungs out his back was not a good example to take after.

I observed myself in the mirror in the middle of my musings and noticed that indeed, somethings had changed about me since I came here. Of course there were the new scars I'd gotten from my death matches in the dungeon. But I realised that what Finn had said was true. I was significantly taller than I was before and more than that, the clothes I'd bought with Raul a few weeks before were already starting to feel tight.

In terms of physique, well let's just say that Bruce Lee would probably have been jealous with how lean and defined I was. There was no bulk to me of course since I was way too young at the moment and those large natural doses of good ol' testosterone were yet to hit me.

"But is it really healthy for a nine year old to have a body like this?" I wondered aloud.

There was not a muscle on my body that could not be seen. I didn't have prominent pectorals but the foundation was clearly there in the form of defined lines. The muscle just had to grow. But I had a set of killer abs. It depended on exactly which abdominal muscles you counted in the pack but if all the hard bumps were to be counted including the ones below my belly button and where my diaphragm would be, then I would be having a ten pack as soon as I reached puberty. If not, then it was just the standard six pack.

But even so, they were so pronounced to the point you could almost see behind them if that made sense. I was no doctor but that made me concerned for my visceral fat and overall the baby fat I was supposed to have that was meant to help me transition properly into adolescence. And if I even so much as lifted my arms, my lats would come out like wings.

I did have a habit of training those since I had theory that they contributed a lot to punching power. And of course I never missed leg day. As much as I could fly, I mostly did a lot of running and jumping around as well as plenty of fighting against monsters with my legs. There was no proper workout like fighting for your life against flesh hungry monsters that wanted to eat you. Not that anybody from the modern world would understand. Screw the gym! An hour in the dungeon gave you all the workout you needed.

But in all seriousness, as cool as it was to be kid with a bod like that, it made me a little uncomfortable. I knew that Falna tended to make you a superhuman even when fresh on you, but biology was biology at the end of the day. Perhaps I would introduce more fat and sugar into my diet since I only ever seemed to eat fruits and lean meat.

My admiration aside, my attention was occupied by one thing that was looming over the heads of every member of the Familia and had us buzzing in anticipation and excitement. The expedition was right around the corner, tomorrow as a matter of fact. I'd made sure to get all of my stuff out of the way before this moment of course. Like my classes with Tsubaki.

Apparently I had a talent for smithing as well since I was now able to make a high quality sword now without it shattering. On a side note, I'd challenged Tsubaki to guess what the sharpest tool was that could cut through metal the easiest. Of course they had files in this world, but Tsubaki couldn't find an answer that didn't seem to obvious or too wrong. So I gave her the answer.

Water.

Water was the sharpest tool that could be used to cut metal. It sounds crazy to some but it is a legitimate thing. There was a machine back on Earth that generated a very thin stream of gushing water at insanely high pressure. And I tell you that it cuts through metal like butter.

I re-enacted by generating the same stream of water from my index finger and slicing clean through an iron sword. Tsubaki just gave me a look like I was crazy before swiftly booting me out of her forge and saying to come back to lessons after the expedition was over. I think I overloaded her head with confusion. And no doubt she would be taking it to Hephaestus

Actually, should I be looking into creating a magical machine that did the same thing? If I did, then metal works would be revolutionised. And it also meant another route of income for me. Something to note down.

But yeah, tomorrow was the big day. My very first expedition and the first time I would be going beyond the 18th floor. Judging by the stats I'd racked up at this point, I could safely assume that I was stronger than Bell was the first time he'd gone deep enough where it counted as an expedition.

Of course, the lower floors was a completely different terrain to the middle and upper floors. In the first two, it was a question of possessing raw power I guess and just making sure you had enough to brute force your way through their native monsters. Perhaps that is the wrong observation but it worked for me. Then again I was different from other adventurers in many angles.

  The middle floors were where your skills started to be tested because where the monsters lacked raw strength, they made up in abilities and home advantage. It forced you to really use your head to outsmart them and the Dungeon. Bear in mind that it was all to prepare you for the real challenge.

The Deep Floors.

They were another jar of horrors altogether. There were rumours going around that we aimed to take a pop at Balor. I know, insane. Even amongst monster rexes, the thing was in a league of it's own. But with three level five executives who I would say were reaching their peak, as well as some hardened veteran level fours as a second wave of attack, followed by support from the numerous mages in the Familia (myself included), I could see us standing a good chance.

But again, I was yet to see the monster so that could not just be assumed. And anyway, if Balor did prove to be bothersome and things were about to go hairy, I was prepared to remove my blindfold and just end it there and then. As much as I valued my secrets, I would not put my Familia member's lives on the line for them. It would still remain as the uttermost last resort though.

'Thread' picked up someone walking up to my door, and I hastily slipped on a fresh tunic to make sure that I was more decent when they did inevitably knock for my attention. And they did after about five seconds. Small little raps hit my door at a very low point of it, which instantly gave me idea as to who it was. But just to confirm my suspicion, I directed a little more Chaos to my eyes to use my special vision.

The door became transparent to me as I saw a familiar little Pallum standing there patiently for me to respond. My smile became a little strained as I recognised them. I still had not had a chance to talk with Lili about the incident, and surprisingly enough there was still nothing released to the public over what became of Canoe Belway. I suspected that investigations were taking place though but I was confident there was nothing there that could lead back to me.

"Come in." I called out.

The door opened and Lili came shuffling in in her usual timid way as she stood by the door.

"The captain is asking for you in his office." Lili said. "He wants you to be apart of the final preparations and discussions."

"Thank you Lili." I said. "I'll head on over there now."

Lili nodded before pouting a little.

"Why can't Lili come with you Big Brother?" 

"Because the captain thinks you can't manage it."

"But why not?" She moaned. "I've been to the dungeon before!"

"But not as far down as we are about to go." I chided as I crouched to meet her eyes. "Things will get very dangerous once we he it the lower floors. I'm not confident I myself will be able to pass without some difficulty. The supporters that are coming with us are trained ones who have been deep in the dungeon before and they know how to defend themselves and how to escape the appropriate way."

"But Lili can run too." She said, still unhappy.

"Not fast enough. It's too dangerous for you to go Lili. It's for your own safety. Before you can go down that deep, you have to be trained first to defend yourself and to protect yourself against certain traps that monsters down there lay out. You have no formal training in weapons at all."

"But then how will Lili be safe up here then?" She sniffed slightly in a way that disguised her welling tears. I saw right through it though. 'How can I be safe if you're not here?' is what she was actually trying to say. I put a hand on her head.

"Nobody is going to harm you up here Lili. If you want to be safe, stay in the manor walls. You're part of our Familia now and we will always protect you from anyone that will try and hurt you." She looked down at the floor, not wanting to meet my gaze. I put my thumb and index on her chin and lifted her face to meet me again. "Listen Lili, they will never hurt you again. And if they do, I promise you that this time I will hunt them down and make them pay for it, okay? I promise that I will teach you how to defend yourself as well. So that next time, you can come with us."

"Promise?"

"I promise." I said grabbing her tiny hand in mine. Honestly, Pallum children were so adorable. My whole hand engulfed her tiny fist.

"Then make sure you keep that promise and come back Big Brother." She said pouting a little. "Big Brothers shouldn't break their promises."

"No, they absolutely shouldn't." I laughed as I ruffled her hair, making her frown in cute annoyance. "I can't think of a bigger scumbag."

But really, I was interested to see if Lili did have any natural talent with weapons. Namely the spear. Fianna was a legendary spear wielder and a contractor with a spirit to boot. Surely some innate skill regarding it had to have passed onto her reincarnation. If her natural strategic genius had managed to nestle itself in Lili, then what was to say that any sort of skill related to spear handling hadn't pulled through either.

Bell obtained a skill that was literally named after his past self because the desire to be a hero was so ingrained in both him and Argonaut. I refused to believe that Lili was always destined to be someone just yelling directions from the background while not possessing much of a combat prowess herself. If I could reawaken Fianna in her once more, then she would be the very first hero to join my cause. 

And while on that topic, I had come to a conclusion after days pondering over exactly what it was I wanted to achieve. It was naturally going to get harder to level up as I ascended more and more. And there was no telling when it was exactly that I would obtain the power I needed to fully control Chaos.

But while in that pursuit, I had another vision. To leave this world behind in far better hands that it had been in canon. To prepare it for the 'promised time' if it so happened that I left before it went down. To leave behind such a defensive force, that the black dragon itself would not be ready for what was coming.

I was going to build an army of Heroes, both the reincarnations of legendary past figures and ones present in this time. Who it was that would be at their head, I was yet to decide. It was a lofty ambition that would take much time and dedication to realise...but this world would not be left vulnerable if I could help it. And while going about doing that, something I was still scratching my head over, I knew for a fact that training Lili...

...was an optimistic start if nothing else.

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

Comment and Review!

Read ahead on my Patreon:

Patreon/ Vulkizaro_Zoromi

For commissions:

Ko-Fi/ vulkizarozoromi