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/Crack…/
From the cracks in the stone, a face peeked out of the rubble, its eyes darting around the hallway.
/Silence.../
When its gaze fell down, it cried out in acknowledgement after a momentary silence.
/ROOOOOOOAAAARRR!/
"... Nice to see you too."
Silver cleared out his ears before covering them with wax. Last time he made the mistake of leaving them unprotected... not this time.
/Boom!/
/Boom!/
/Boom!/
Goliath pushed itself from the wall. One arm shattered the stone like a hammer falling on ice, then the second, before using both of them to jump out of its confinement, pushing tons of boulders as the crystal barrier shattered.
/Step!/
/SHUAA!!/
It wasted no time. From the moment its feet collided with the ground, the beast began its charge!
Silver looked up at the creature with a frown, "Its behaviour changed a little. Perhaps no two Goliath are the same?"
His body was quick to react, 'No matter, let's give this a try.'
His muscles swole as they brightened with light, pressure building up under his skin.
His palm split open brutally, arteries and tendons revealed as they reshaped themselves into a cannon's metallic barrel.
His chest brightened as well, his heart pumping energy into the shot.
/BOOM!/
A fiery blast came out of his body! So powerful Silver's right arm was sent recoiling backward!
/KABOOM!/
The fireball collided against Goliath's face! But despite the sheer force hidden in the strike, all it did was make it step back once, with a light injury on its forehead.
"Still not enough." Silver said with frustration as he smacked his lips
'Then we resort to what works.'
/Crunk.../
While his body returned to its previous state, the underside of his right arm peeled off from his muscles, turning into numerous shards that floated beneath it…
His muscles shone with an eerie green light, waves of energy burying themselves into his trembling muscles.
"HUPP!!"
Silver took a quick breath as he felt the energy drain from his body. The surrounding ground shook, rocks floating under an invisible force…
/Float…/
/BOOOM!!/
Goliath ran to him, but as it was about to step down, its foot missed the ground, causing it to stumble. It tried to balance itself and step down again, but not of its feet reached the solid earth!
It was floating! Grasped by an unseen power!
"Ugh!"
'Heavy… far heavier than he looks...'
The veins on Silver's forehead stuck out on his skin as he forced himself to lift the mighty beast. Even with its incredible power, it could do nothing except flail its body around the place.
For those without the means to resist, being sent into the air was often the easiest method of taking them down. Silver had used this method to take down well over 90% of all monsters on both the Upper and Middle Floors with considerable success.
It even worked on adventurers...
/ROOOOOOOOOOOAAAAARR!!/
"Urg…"
Albeit its deafening roars still shook his eardrums.
/Crunk…/
While he kept Goliath in the air, Silver's body continued to change, growing larger and muscular. From his pocket space, he took out a metallic spear, the same one he used to hunt it before.
It was different. Its edge had been sharpened and reinforced with other metals, its shaft reforged...
/DASH!/
He ran after it, letting go of the beast at the same time.
/JUMP!/
As it fell, Silver jumped to meet it, crashing against it mid-air!
/SPLAT!/
With all his power, Silver pierced its right eye with his spear! This time, he could feel it, something fracturing at the back of the beast's eye socket!
/BANG!/
/BURN!/
He smashed his spear again, and as the spear punctured bone, he released his strongest wave of fire! His veins ignited with hot gas, spewing it through his fingers down the spear's shaft!
As he attempted to move his energy through the metal, a strange feeling ran down his body, but one he quickly missed amidst the surrounding mayhem.
/BOOM!/
/ROOOOOAAARR!/
Goliath cried out in pain as it stepped back, disoriented… /SPLATTER!/
/CRACK!/
"!!"
Silver kept pushing amidst the beast's flails. He could feel the bone crack, just a little more and…
/FLASH!/
"?!!"
A wave of light cut through him. The next thing he knew, he was flying through the air amidst a cloud of dark fog!
His body was mangled, covered in blood, the entrails of the creature that had just been eviscerated now covering his face and chest as he left a bloody arc in the air.
But that wasn't just from the beast, his body too had been damaged by the mere afterglow of the devastating light, his skin burned, cuts clear throughout his chest and arms, as if a slash had stopped just moments before it went through his body.
/Shuaa…/
'What happened?' He thought amidst a daze as he saw the ceiling of the Dungeon fly past by, 'Something hit me.' he determined as he reached the ground
His vision turbid, Silver knew he had to do something about his fall... but his thoughts didn't listen, blurry moments and a daze clouded his judgment.
Even his extensive training wasn't enough to help him keep his cool now.
/BOOOOM!/
"UGHH!!"
Silver crashed down onto a distant boulder. He was lucky its sharp corners missed his head.
Gasping for air, not knowing what had just happened, he stood there, bleeding as he tried to make sense of his spinning head. With a concussion so strong blue had turned yellow, Silver didn't even remember where he was anymore.
/Step…/
Then it began — the echoing of footsteps.
/Step…/
In the quiet halls, that was the only thing he could hear.
"Huff… what… Cough!"
Silver rolled to the side, slowly pushing himself off the ground as he reached out into the air to grab a potion. That was his first instinct.
The second one was telling him to bolt out of there! But with his body and mind in shambles, he couldn't even afford to make an escape, much less think about it.
He drank half of it and drenched his head with the rest. Using the bolder as support, he got to his feet again.
/Step…/
/Step…/
"Haaa… haa…"
His thoughts slowly settling down, perhaps from a combination of his training and his instincts trying to take hold of his bodily functions, Silver was quick to study his condition, 'My left shoulder is completely mangled, my chest is deeply wounded... I barely protected my head… just what struck me.'
/Step…/
He wouldn't need to question that for much longer. Seeing who stood before him, Silver froze for a moment before he spat on the ground in understanding.
"Hahaha…"
He laughed dryly… 'Well, shit.'
A tall and heavily muscular dark-skinned demi-human approached him. His ears were unusual, but Silver recognized the species. It was a Boaz.
Rust-colored hair and eyes. The adventurer wore little armor aside from a gray tank top with an ordinary heart armor plate, with nothing aside from his brown pants and gray shoes for protection.
He was almost like Silver, coming to the Dungeon with nothing but ordinary clothes and a weapon in hand. A large, curved greatsword shaped like a fang. The man carried it on his shoulder as if it were made of cardboard.
(Image)
Silver was reminded of Loiju's words earlier, "Ha… when that damn guy said someone took this darned commission…"
'That son of a bitch should've finished his damn sentence and told me more about it!'
/Step…/
/Throw…/
The giant of a man threw a small vial at him. Silver immediately recognized what it was, one of the strongest potions of all. An Elixir.
Silver had drunk such before. Albeit difficult to accquire, with enough money, he could fork out enough to get one for emergencies. In no time did he enter the Dungeon without one.
"… T-Thanks."
He opened it and drank it with difficulty. A potent sour taste cut through his throat, followed by a wave of energy that visibly healed his muscles.
With some control from his Plasmids, he easily rearranged his body parts, getting to near perfect condition in no time as steam and fog rose from his wounds, nostrils, and mouth.
He checked his wounds as he stepped forward, "I still can't get used to these…"
/Step…/
The giant man turned around. Not a word of worry or apology, just a silent stare of recognition of his conditon. His work done, it was time to leave.
He didn't even seem interested in taking Goliath's magic stone… with reason. With such size, no monster could eat it even if they wanted to, and in such a busy place, someone was going to collect it, eventually.
Even thought it would be effortless to carry it back with him, perhaps to this monster, its value wasn't even worth the hassle... or perhaps it was his way of apologizing... there was no way to know.
But Silver… could not accept that.
"Wait."
/Stop…/
The man stopped, turning to face him.
Standing before him, with his heavy gaze on his body, Silver couldn't help but shake a little. His body was telling him what this creature was, what this being was…
The strongest adventurer in Orario, the only Level 7 of this city. Ottar, the King.
/Crunk…/
Before this man, tricks mean little. Silver immediately pulled his spear with telekinesis and put it before him.
"I apologize for interfering in your commission… but you stole my Excelia."
'I don't even know what I'm doing anymore… fuck it.' He thought as a bead of sweat fell from his forehead
He placed his spear before him.
"All I ask is for a chance."
"…"
/Crunk…/
Ottar turned to him, putting his sword before him.
"Come."
An invitation, all he needed to hear.
/CRACK!/
Silver's body burst into flames as he grasped his spear tightly, "FINE!"
'No matter how much it hurts me…'
Silver's skin evaporated as he was enveloped in a blanket of flames, /BURST!/ he dashed forward, leaving behind a trail of red embers.
"..."
Ottar seemed to react faintly at his abilities, but his gaze seemed to focus both beyond and at Silver himself... just what was the man that had seen it all thinking about?
/HUPP!/
/CLANG!/
Silver collided with the giant sword, but it didn't budge at all, 'It's like punching a boulder.' he thought as the vibrations shook his arms and chest all the way to his legs.
/CLANG!/
/CLANG!/
/CLANG!/
/CLA.../
...
Silver used all that he knew. He tried to maneuver himself around the man, to outwit him with technique, to use dirty tactics, and even his own strength against him, but the man was too fast, too strong, to... capable.
He looked at Silver as if he had already seen those moves before, as if he knew exactly what he was going to do next. His thoughts, actions, and the limits of his strength... all were within the King's vision.
Rarely did he act, but when he did, it utterly shattered Silver's offensive. As little of a movement as it was, Ottar's strike was enough to send Silver into an immediate defensive.
Where did such experience come from? Had he seen it before?
Had he... done it before?
Without even needing to move his feet, Ottar blocked every attack with one arm. The sheer strength behind the blade caused the surrounding air to shake Silver's flames.
They struck each other for dozens of blows as Silver tried everything he knew about combat and martial arts to as much as make him react or move, but all were for naught as the man did not even move.
The ground beneath them cracked, and the man was even moved back as it gave away, but his body remained still. Like pushing a metal obelisk in the sand, the sand may give way, but the obelisk remains whole, timeless and unmoldable.
When he understood the limits of his ability, Silver swallowed his pride. This was a type of combat beyond what he had grown accustomed to. This was the truth of Orario.
Silver had heard stories of how people living outside of the city would grow resentment to those within, for they could not understand what they went through. He had experienced such in days before, but now that he stood before this man, if only a reflection, Silver saw the truth of what the people in this city truly stood against.
The very source of all malice. It required one to abandon all manner of common sense and strive to achieve something superhuman.
He had learned how to fight like a man, but not like this. This was but the groundup... from here on... he'd have to make his own fighting style.
/Crunk…/
"Hm?…"
For the first time, Ottar's eyes moved elsewhere as the ground beneath him parted open.
/PIERCE!/
/CLANG!/
Silver took this chance to pierce with his spear forward, but Ottar merely swatted it aside as he moved his feet to the side… but that was what Silver wanted.
/SPLAT!/
From his shoulder, a fireball erupted right onto his body! Taking Ottar by surprise as his face was covered in flames!
/Silence…/
"Huff… I hit him…"
/BOOOM!/
Before Silver even had the time to process it, he was flung across the hallway onto the wall. His body transformed back as the flames were immediately extinguished.
The dark cloud of smoke was parted open and dissipated instantly by the King's mighty force!
/SLAM!/
"GUAH!"
Feeling the air escaping his lungs, Silver crashed against the wall. His only method of defense, his crystallized back, shattered into a thousand pieces.
/Step…/
Meanwhile, Ottar walked after him as if nothing had happened. The only change was his left hand's glove, which now had a faint black mark on it.
/Throw…/
He threw another potion onto the ground.
"Drink."
"Ahhh… haa… hupp!"
Silver's expression quickly went from pain to frustration as he bit his lip, using telekinesis to feed himself the potion as his lungs still struggled to draw air.
"Haa…cough!"
He crawled from the ground, standing up again amidst heavy breaths… "A... ah... A-Again."
/Fwoosh!/
His spear flew across the air into his palm. The battle had reopened at its starting point!
"Haa…"
'Even with that strike at point blank, he still blocked it with his left hand. I didn't even see his arms moving.'
'I wasn't intending to cause any damage… but from the beginning, that might've not even been a possibility. No matter what I do, I don't think I can do anything but annoy this man.'
""…""
They looked at each other before Silver stepped forward, 'Let's try another approach.'
/Fwoosh…/
"!"
Silver took three steps forward before he vanished from Ottar's sight! It was such an abrupt change that even he was mildly affected as he moved his arms upward.
On his stoic face… Ottar's eyebrows rose slightly as his eyes began scanning his surroundings...
/Silence…/
/SWING!/
/SHA!/
Ottar swung his sword at the air, causing the ground to split as a wave of air gushed out from his blade! Yet… nothing happened.
/SWING!/
/SHA!/
He swung it again, but nothing. Only the echoes of air screaming as his blade landed on emptiness.
/Twitch…/
His ears twitched. He turned around and swung his blade into the air behind his back!
/SHAAA!/
But only air met his blade…
"!"
At that moment, Silver's hand pierced through the air, appearing from nothing. A thousand thoughts passed through Ottar's mind as he prepared his countermeasure.
Where Silver's hands moved a centimeter, Ottar had already readjusted his body, ready to strike the air…
/FLASH!/
But from Silver's palm, a flash of light suddenly ensued! Bright enough to blot out the sun!
Ottar squinted his eyes as he momentarily stepped back, but his guard was still as high as it could ever be. No… it had risen.
/SWING!/
Ottar swung his blade through the air, and this time, he met something!
"Ugh…"
A grunt echoed in the air as Silver was struck! Blood spilling in the battlefield!
/SWING!/
Ottar stepped forward, swinging his sword sideways with the blunt side like he did before, intending to send Silver flying again…
"!!"
But as he moved, he immediately realized the mistake he had made. His speed of reaction and decision-making was so fast even Silver felt awe. Nonetheless, it was too late to do anything.
While his body twisted, the echoes rang.
/BURST!/
Two massive sound waves snapped from within Silver's modified arms as he put his hands around Ottar's ears! Releasing the equivalent of 180+ decibels of sound waves directly into his eardrums! The equivalent of The loudest sound he could produce with his current abilities.
All of this occurred from Ottar's extreme battle sense. Silver blinded him, if even for a moment, making him rely on his experience and hearing. The moment he did so, it was over.
Silver manipulated the very sound around him, something Ottar realized far too quickly. But it was exactly when he understood how to differentiate things that Silver broke his stream of thoughts by letting him hit "him".
While his fake body moved into position, Silver breached space and reached directly into his ears, going past the King's famed Absolute Defense. This kind of movement was so sudden even his grandparents could not fully react in time.
Stronger with more practice and preparing ahead of time, even the King would end up surprised at least once! And that was all Silver needed. One moment, one chance.
Why try to pierce through the unbreakable fortress when you can just bypass its defenses entirely?
/BANG!/
Ottar reacted with brutal speed. It was so fast, so sharp, so brutal that Silver didn't even have the time to manipulate his body... much less notice something had changed.
He was struck on the side, his ribcage splintering as he was sent hurling like a cannonball to the crystal wall, being embedded in it almost as deep as the Goliath before!
"Ugh…"
Meanwhile, Ottar partially regained his vision, dabbing his ears as if the pain was but a mild inconvenience. He grunted only for a moment as his ears twitched and his lips returned to stillness, the momentary glimpse into his emotions… gone.
/Fall!/
Meanwhile, Silver pushed himself off the wall instinctively, falling chest first onto the ground below.
/Step… Step…/
He walked to where Silver had fallen, looking at him until he assessed his condition. He crouched near him, reaching out…
/PIERCE!/
Dozens of small needles pierced in his direction, forcing Ottar to use his left hand to block them!
/Shua…/
The figure on the ground slowly turned to dust as Silver reappeared in the air above Ottar, chugging down a potion, "Go to hell!"
/BLA… st…/
/SMASH!/
"UGH!"
Blood bursting from his mouth, Ottar had vanished from his location, reappearing in the air beside Silver as he punched straight into his stomach, interrupting his strike while sending him firing him down to the ground like a comet!
/BOOM!/
Ottar landed with a crash, walking up to him, this time more attentively. As he confirmed Silver was, in fact, utterly unconscious, he took another potion and spread it on his collapsed body, waiting for it to take effect.
With half of his clothes burned off, the potion easily seeped into his skin, healing his wounds rapidly.
"…"
His actions completed, he waited for a few more moments before walking to the side and leaving the floor.
…
/Later.../
/Step…/
"… Hm?…"
'My arm?'
Ottar momentarily stopped to look at his arm. A slight look of "astonishment" appeared on his face as he looked at his skin. Albeit to him, that did not differ from his eyebrows being slightly elevated.
/Prick…/
He pulled one of the several tiny needles embedded in his skin. He forgot about them because he wasn't feeling anything, but now that he checked them, he could notice a faint substance dripping from their tips.
Most of it had been injected into his arm, so much so his skin was now… a little numb.
"Interesting." He said calmly as he plucked them all, putting them in a small vial before moving on
In but a few moments, the light discomfort in his arm vanished. Even Silver's desperate strike did little but inconvenience him.
…
/An unknown amount of time later.../
"… urg… d-damn it all… alive?... I'm alive..."
'And sore...'
"Haa... fuck that guy... he isn't around anymore, is he?"
After sluggishly looking around, Silver's head fell down again, 'At least... it doesn't hurt that much. I only remember being hit, as if an entire building had fallen on me… I felt like this once long ago…'
'While traversing Tears, I ended up crossing straight onto a train track while a train was passing... What I felt from his fist was exactly the same as I felt now.'
"Huff… although his fist was probably heavier than that."
After a few grueling seconds in pain, Silver crawled out of the cracks on the ground, spitting out the remaining dust and blood in his mouth as he thought about the battle.
"Level 7… not just any Level 7… I still have a long way to go."
He stood on his two feet, dusting his body as he recovered his range of motion, 'In no moment did I even see him move properly. Only at faint intervals did his weapon stop moving as it clashed with mine… the most I saw were faint afterimages of his movements, though that could've been my imagination just the same.'
'It almost seemed as if he was speeding up and slowing down with every attack, carefully controlling his power just so I wouldn't be blown apart… I have to remember that when you have the power of a cannonball in your hands, if you punch someone in the face, it'll be akin to a cannonball striking them... It can't be any simpler.'
'That guy though… I think he had the power of a whole cruise ship crashing on a damn port…' He complained as he tapped his bruised chest
Silver looked at the side where Goliath's magic stone stood with a few scattered drop items, "He left it behind?… Well… fine by me."
'At least its not cracked. I can carry it with me back to the surface just fine.'
Silver sat on a rock and looked at the damage from their little bout before grimacing.
"For now… I'll change my clothes and put on my armor..." He mumbled with a faint grunt as he reached for his neck
'I don't plan on moving through the door. At least for these floors closer to the surface, I've come to prefer just walking back and going to the Guild counter. It feels more natural that way.'
He looked at his hand. It was all bloodied now, "No wonder I feel faint… potions don't heal blood most of the time..."
With that, Silver cleaned himself and changed his clothes before putting on his armor. With his backpack filled with loot that he had yet to exchange, Silver lifted the child-size magic stone on the ground and made his way to the surface.
One wobbly step at a time...
…
/Slash!/
/CUT!/
/Poof!…/
/Cling…/
"One more stone for the pot~"
/Step.../
"GUOH!..."
/CRUSH!/
"Sighhhh… Arshe, do we really need to collect them all?" Tione complained as she crushed a Minotaur's neck with he feet
/SLASH!/
"And give up the loot? That's unlike you, sister." Tione replied as she jumped in the air with her pair of twin daggers, slashing across a Minotaur as if it were butter
"It's just slowing things down so much… sigh… at this rate we might fail to cover the costs of the repairs… I don't want to lose the Winter Festival! I promised to go with Captain!"
Tiona smiled awkwardly, "… Isn't that just you though?"
"Huh?!"
"…"
/FWOOSH!/
While the sisters bickered, Ais dashed across the battlefield like a bolt of green lightning, slashing across a dozen minotaurs in the time it took for someone to blink!
She stopped with a gentle slide, holding the tip of her blade as she looked back, her golden hair fluttering in the chaotic wind.
"Ais! At least leave some for us, sheesh… as if this couldn't get any more boring." Tione exclaimed as she kicked some dust on the ground
"Sorry…"
Tiona joked, smiling, "Ais doesn't want to pay interest again like last time."
"Ugh…"
Ais dreaded the mere mention of the size of the bill… she once forgot about it for a few weeks and the cost almost doubled. Especially with her going to repair the weapon more than once…
At the time, Loki convinced Goibniu to decrease the value to something manageable, but it served as a cruel reminder of the cost of negligence… It was steep and full of zeros.
"Are we going deeper, Ais?" Lefiya asked as she held a large backpack on her back, struggling slightly
"Of course. We've just started."
'If I don't have my weapon by the New Year, Riveria is going to nag at me again…'
/Step…/
/Step…/
Ais' ears twitched as she heard footsteps echoing from the path ahead of them. She knew it wasn't from a monster, but she kept her blade up nonetheless.
"Hm?… Oh, it's you guys again."
Interrupting their conversation, a red knight walked out of the dark caverns. His armor clanked and creaked with every step as the clinging of magic stones and drop items resounded on his overflowing backpack.
"Hm?… Do we know him?" Tione asked as she sheathed her weapons
"That hurts. It hasn't even been a week…" Silver replied as he stopped walking
Noticing the floating stone, Lefiya's eyes narrowed, "Wait a minute… it's the man with the telekinesis magic!"
She noticed quickly because in the last few days; she had grown obsessed with trying to understand just why his magic had no chanting.
'I can finally ask him!'
"Whaaaat?! I've finally found you again!" Tiona exclaimed as she ran to him
"Huh?…"
"Make me fly again!"
"…"
'Miss, please... I'm tired...'
"Hm?… That stone! Is it the Goliath's magic stone?" Arshe asked as she stepped closer with the others
"Whaaaat? Come on! We woke up this early just to take him down!" Tione exclaimed as she pointed at him
"How did you get here earlier than us?! Your backpack too! How is it full?!"
Silver tilted his head slightly, "How? I just went down the Dungeon… I woke up around six, got to the Guild around seven, reaching the 17th floor by eight, and I plan to get back home by ten."
"How did you get to the 17th floor in an hour?! It'd take longer if I went running!"
"What a coincidence, that's exactly what I did." Silver said as he lied without a shred of hesitation
"Urg…"
Tiona put her arms before Silver, "Who cares! I want to fly!"
"… Fine."
'Whatever to change the subject...'
"Woooahhh!!"
Silver exhaled faintly as he put the stone down. With his right hand, he helped Tiona float and fly around the cavern as she exclaimed dramatically.
"Sigh, Tiona, stop acting like a kid. What's the point of this?"
"It looks quite fun though…" Lefiya muttered on the side as she smiled awkwardly
"Can't you fly as well, miss Ais?" Arshe asked as she turned to Ais
She shook her head, "Only jumping… flying is impossible."
"Is that so…? I always had the impression you were flying…"
"Yayyy!…"
Tapping her foot, Tione crossed her arms as she scoffed, "… Tiona? Had enough? We need to move!"
"Just a bit longer! Faster!"
"Sigh… you should say something too." Tione muttered as she looked at Silver
"Me? To the Level 5 Amazon? I'm fine, this much isn't that taxing on me at all either."
"You heard him! Faster!"
"Erm… nevermind…"
"… Do you want to fly too, miss?" Silver asked as he looked at Lefiya as she looked at the ground and played with her fingers
"Me? Eh? No… yes… no! Definately no..."
"…"
/Lift!/
Silver ingored her completely, "Eeek! P-Put me down…"
/Swoosh…/
Silver used his powers to get Lefiya to fly next to Tiona, "Yaayy.. hm?… Lefiya? Welcome aboard!"
"EEEEEK! I-I don't like this!…"
Tiona held her hand, "What's there to be so tense for? Relax and fly with me!"
"EEEEEEK!"
While they spun around the cavern, Silver turned to the others.
"… You want to fly too?"
"I'll pass. Someone has to keep a lookout for." Tione said as she scoffed
"I-I'm carrying the magic stones…" Arshe said with a pale expression as she stepped back
"…"
Ais just looked at the two of them flying above in silence.
"Yaaayy!"
"Wawawa... the world is spinning…"
They played around for a few more minutes before being put down.
…
"... That was fun! Let's do this again in the future! Next time somewhere with more space!" Tiona said with a smile as she moved her arms around
"If we meet again, sure."
/Pull…/
Silver pulled the magic stone, holding it over his shoulders, "I'll be taking my leave now. Good luck down there!"
'My Mind is running out again… I've yet to recover from the prior events… the Elixir he fed me recovered my wounds, but not all.'
"Hey!"
"Hm?…"
"What's your name?"
"Me? It's Silver."
"Silver? But your armor's red. Why weren't you using it before?"
"First... this armor is quite heavy. I don't use it everytime. Second, my name comes from the color of my eyes…" He mumbled as he snapped his fingers, causing his helmet to vanish
""!""
This action shocked them again, but Silver paid it no heed as he bent closer to Tiona, showing her his eyes.
"See? They're Silver."
"Uhuh… neat! Mine's Tiona! And that's my sister over there! Tione!"
"That over there is beautiful Ace! Ais Wallenstein!"
"Nice to meet you." She said with a formal and short bow
Silver smiled, "That I know. Hard not to recognize the faces of Loki's children when they're everywhere these days… though I can't say I recognize that one over there." He said as he looked at Arshe
"Line Arshe, a pleasure." She replied with a nod, which Silver reciprocated
"A pleasure as well… and if I'm not mistaken, that one is…"
"It's not that one! I have a name!" Lefiya exclaimed as she pouted and crossed her arms
"Yes, of course… the "Ten magical Elfs"…"
"It's Thousand Elf! At least get my Alias right! I'm a hundred times better than that!" She exclaimed again as her face grew red
"Pfft... ten magical elfs..."
"Not you too, Arshe!"
"Haha… right…"
Silver smiled, but he was a bit tense, 'S-Shit... at this rate, this conversation will...'
"What about you?" Ais asked all of a sudden
"Me what? My full name?"
'Well shit. Here we are.'
She shook her head, "Your Alias… easier to recognize." She added at the end as she feared her intent might be misunderstood
Indeed, she had a point; often, it was easier to remember certain Level 3 and higher adventurers from their Aliases than their names. She felt she might recognize him from a combination of his unique armor and Alias.
Can you blame her. When they first met, Silver was rampaging on the 12th floor with nothing but his bare body. That was how she saw it at least...
Now, here he was returning from the Dungeon with so much loot and Goliath's magic stone in such a short time... wouldn't that make him a rather capable Level 4 adventurer at the very least?
The others thought the same. He seemed to act like one too.
"Oh, that…"
Silver reached out to the back of his head, slightly awkward, 'How do I answer this…? I dug this hole myself.'
"Embarrassed? Come on, don't be shy." Tione teased with a smirk as Lefiya smiled smugly as well
'I'm irking to ask him about his magic, but that would be too rude, wouldn't it?... Maybe I can have Lefiya do it...'
"Don't look at me like that, it's nothing of the sort… sigh… it's far simpler than that."
'This is going to get me in trouble... but its better than lying.'
"I uh... I just don't have one."
"Huuuh?! How can an adventurer like you not have one? Don't tell me you've been hiding your level?!" Lefiya exclaimed as she pointed at him
'I knew something was off about him! There's no way I wouldn't have heard of an adventurer like him!'
Hearing his words, Tione's expression changed.
"Hum… Arshe, aren't there bounties for adventurers who hide their Level?" Tione asked as her eyes flashed with light
"I believe there is indeed, and the higher the level, the higher the bounty." She added as she pushed her glasses down
Silver could feel the atmosphere changing, "Guys… it's not that deep. I'm just not Level 2 yet…"
'Shit, I made things even worse...'
"And you expect us to believe that?! You with the Goliath Magic Stone?!" Lefiya exclaimed as she pointed at him.
Silver looked at the small elf as her face grew redder and redder, 'Fuck it, since it's like this, let's see your face turn into a tomato.'... "This is my second time killing it though…"
"Whaaaaat?!"
"Lying isn't good, Silver." Tiona added as she put her arms behind her back
Ais nodded as well.
"Haa… I'm not lying. I became an adventurer a week ago, it's far too soon for an Alias…"
Lefiya grew even more frustrated. It almost seemed as if steam was coming off her ears, "At least lie properly!"
"… Do you want me to lie or not?"
"Lefiya... calm down..."
"Hmm… alright! We're taking him in!" Tione decided after a moment of pondering
Tiona didn't seem to agree, feeling bad, "Sis, let's give him a pass this time. He's not doing anything wrong, he's a nice dude."
"Don't be naïve, Tiona, look at the magic stone! If we surrender him to the Guild, not only will we gain a bounty, but also all of his loot will be ours." Her sister whispered as she approached her sister
"I'm hearing you…"
"Hmmmm… that just sounds so scummy…" Tiona muttered as she closed her eyes and scratched her chin, "But the money though… a Goliath Magic Stone would just kind of cover everything, wouldn't it?"
Her sister nodded eagerly.
Tiona turned to him after thinking about the money, "I'm sorry for this, telekinesis-man, you're coming with us."
Silver rolled his eyes as he sighed, "Whatever, fine by me. I was just in need of an escort to the surface after meeting that guy. My head's still ringing..."
"Humph! Let's see how long you can keep this up!" Lefiya said as she pointed at him
"You seem confident. Do you trust your wit enough to make a bet?" He teased with a smirk as he crossed his arms
"If you turn out to be Level 1 I'll... I'll give you my staff!!"
"Lefiya... your staff is pretty expensive though..." Arshe added on the side
"I know what I'm doing!"
"Ha... Little girl, you should learn how to better choose your battles." Silver joked as he scoffed at her
"Little girl?! I'm not a little girl! I'm fifteen!!"
""…""
"Guys, at least say something. Especially you, Arshe! You're sixteen!"
"Sixteen is already an adult, Lefiya." Arshe said 'professionally' as she adjusted her glasses
"Who are you trying to kid?!"
"Pfft… so it's the "Teenager Elf"…" Silver joked as he looked away
"Do you want me to hit you?!"
Seeing how things were shifting, Silver coughed faintly, "Ahem… so, uh, we going? I kind of have things to do." Silver said as he checked the time on his pocket watch
'I was planning on maybe finishing the rest of my commissions before going back home and updating my Status. I haven't done so in almost a week after all.'
'I'm quite eager to see how much I've grown.'
"… Aren't you relaxed? Do you know what they do with those who keep their Level under covers?" Tione asked as she stepped closer to him
"I know, but I don't need you to remind me when that's not going to happen."
"You're confident! We'll see! Don't even think about escaping!"
"From two Level 5 Amazons and Loki's pride? I have a good head on my shoulders, miss."
Silver was going to suggest betting with her too, but he was afraid of what might happen when he won, so he kept quiet, for his own sake...
"Good! I'd rather not waste extra time running after someone… not that I would mind it; things have been quite stale and I was itching to punch something." She said with a "gentle" smile as she clenched her fists
"… I'll keep that in mind." He replied with a slightly contorted smile before manifesting his helmet back in place
Lefiya wanted to ask how he was doing that, but she ended up keeping her words to herself.
She had to keep her front! Humph!
...
"... Have you guys ever done this before?"
"Nope!" Tiona replied as she walked with her arms behind her head
"Why?"
"Because no one in the Dungeon is stupid enough to reveal things like this." Arshe added as she walked behind Ais and Tione
"What she said."
"... Haven't it passed through your mind that I'm speaking the truth?"
"No."
"So cold... what's so surprising about this, anyway? Sheesh."
'I don't think the others will care much, but that Amazon... I have the feeling she won't take things lightly...'
The way back up was silent but swift. Silver bickered with them a bit, but they didn't seem interested in small talk, and the only who seemed like it would talk to him was currently pouting.
Within a few moments, they arrived at the Dungeon's entrance. Once they did so, they dragged Silver to the Guild's branch, "surrendering" him to the authorities.
…
/BANG!/
"What do you mean he's Level 1?! At least try to make sense here! He was holding a Goliath Magic Stone!" Tione exclaimed as she banged on the counter
"..."
'She's about to explode...'
At the surface, Silver and the others, stood at the entrance of the Guild. It was quite empty given the time, since most adventurers going to the Dungeon had yet to return.
With the Winter Festival just around the corner, over half of Orario's adventurers were now focused on other activities and enjoying the holidays instead.
But the surrounding few did seem to sneak a few glances at them, and with reason; it wasn't every time one could take a glance at the shining children of Loki.
"Miss… all the paperwork is perfect. This gentleman became an adventurer last week." The Guild clerk replied as a bead of sweat fell from her forehead
Though even she didn't seem to believe her own words. After putting everything together, it was indeed quite an unbelievable story.
Silver, however, didn't seem to mind at all... "How much for the magic stone though? Do I need to exchange it at another booth?" Silver asked as he yawned in the corner
Tione clenched her fists as her eyelids twitched, "#!! You sure are relaxed…"
"I am. After fighting Goliath, I was graciously escorted by several beautiful girls out of the Dungeon. My day just couldn't be any better."
"#!!…"
Tione seemed to be about to burst, so Tiona just tapped her shoulders, "Sis…"
"I know! Dammit… what a waste of time!" She replied as she bolted out of the Guild, her shoulders raised as she stomped her way out, grunting something inaudible
"… Did anyone claim the bounty for the Goliath?" Silver asked as he turned to the Guild clerk
""…""
Everyone was silent…
"No, sir…"
"Can I claim it then?"
"I-I… I suppose so?"
"Great, so I'll be claiming that, selling the Goliath's Magic Stone, its drops, and these magic stones and drop items as well." Silver said as he put his bag on the counter
"Sir… you need to go to the appropriate booth…"
"Right, my apologies… then, Miss Tiona and company, thank you all for accompanying me." Silver said as he bowed
"Ugh... arg!! T-Take it!!!" Lefiya exclaimed as she shoved her staff down his face after the most gruesome decision of her life
"..."
"Just take it already! You win! Just... take it..." She said as she began crying
'Good my staff! I'll never gamble again!! How will I even face the others?!'
"... Fine."
Silver picked the staff while the others looked at him with heavy, tense eyes... but he handed it back to her.
"There you go. Don't go gambling again."
"... You mean it?"
"I wasn't even being serious before..."
/SWOOSH!/
Lefiya took back her staff with such speed Silver only heard the air being split apart as her hands turned into afterimages.
"Never run away from me again." She said as she hugged her staff... but her gaze soon went back to him, "You… just how can you be Level 1?!" Lefiya exclaimed as she pointed at him, trembling
"I mean… everyone starts at Level 1, no?"
"That's not the point!!! I never heard of… mnh?!"
But before she could complete her words, Tiona muffled Lefiya by putting her hand over her mouth, "Now, enough of that. It was our mistake. Sorry about that, telekinesis man."
"We... we'll be taking our leave now; we're quite busy too… see ya!"
"D-Don't drag me! You'll rip the bag..."
Tiona left in a hurry while dragging Lefiya and Arshe, leaving only Ais behind, who stood there like a ghost.
"Erm… can I help you with anything?"
'No wonder she was once hailed the Doll Princess... she does look like a perfect doll.'
"… How? How did you kill it at Level 1? Tell me."
Silver was surprised, he raised an eyebrow at her question, albeit that couldn't be seen with his helmet covering his face, "Hum… it's embarrassing, but this time I didn't deliver the finishing blow. While I was fighting it, someone else interfered and took it down."
"Then before..."
"Excuse me, adventurer."
A sudden call interrupted Ais as she pressed him for answers.
Silver turned back to look at the clerk as she called him, "… Maybe we can continue this conversation some other time. Thank you once again, and good luck with your hunt."
With that, he went to the clerk to finish handling his loot while Ais reluctantly left with the others.
"…"
Once she left, Silver relaxed internally, 'Is she gone? Finally… I thought she was going to drill a hole through the back of my head…'
'What a mess. I guess the Dungeon really is smaller than I thought… every day I'm meeting a group coming or going...'
While his mission for today was over, the day itself was far from over. Not long after he claimed his loot and left Babel, Silver returned to the Dungeon to finish the pending work for this week.
Unbeknownst to him, someone watched from above.
…
/Later.../
"... I FORGOT TO ASK!!"
Lefiya screamed in frustration.
...
.
.
.
Notes
There was going to be far more development with Ottar, but I felt it was best left for another time... or with another character.
Hehehe... my plans are developing just nicely...
Thank you for reading. Tell me what you think of the interactions in this chapter!
We'll be continuing with Silver's development and growth before linking with the Winter Festival and the New Year. After that, with the city returning to its workdays, we too will return with more development and other interactions!
Peace!