(3rd person PoV)
"Henryk, when are you going to take an update?" Hestia was getting worried. Her second child decided to not take a daily update. He did not state his reasons and only said that there is no reason he should update his falna every day.
"I was just about to ask you to do it" Henryk said, accepting her offer.
"Wonderful! Now, lay down" Hestia quickly flashed over to the couch, vigorously slapping the spot next to her. She was relieved. She was used to updating Bell's status daily. Henryk's refusal to have his status updated as often made her anxious.
"Aye aye" Henryk laid down with his back bared. Hestia's insignia, her hearth and its fire, were engraved on his back. 'This's my first tattoo. To think I was not thinking about having one, but now I suddenly want another when the intricate work of the first was so pleasant to the eyes'
With a drop of Hestia's blood, his status flared to life as a light-cyan light bubble sprang up. It contained hieroglyphs written in the language of the gods. Hestia watched as the hieroglyphs and the numbers accompanying them changed, going up or down, displaying what he had done from the last update.
"Hmm? A new skill. Although, this one seems to not do much" Hestia was too shocked to react erratically. People did not gain skills this conveniently quickly.
"What does it do?" Henryk was curious. 'Skills don't just appear like that. They aren't supposed to be easy to acquire. This makes me uneasy'
"See for yourself" Hestia quickly printed his status on a status sheet and moved away.
(Line Break)
(3 days' worth of effort. 5 days before Loki familia's expedition coming to an end)
Name: Henryk Williams
Familia: Hestia Familia
Level: 1
STR: I24 → I35
END: I19 → I24
DEX: I13 → I35
AGI: I10 → I23
MAG: I0
Magic:
None
Skills:
(Skills you already know)
Walking Orchestra:
You can replay any music or song you heard before for others. You can choose to play the sound with you as the center, or let it play from everywhere around the room equally. The volume is adjustable.
(Line Break)
"Well, let's see the contents of that handy skill" Henryk was already devising a plan to use Ouros and the others to farm for monster drops. Fey could just stay with him and get spoiled all day.
"Papa? What was that about a skill?" Fey titled her head in curiosity.
"My adorable daughter, I got a skill that allows me to let others hear any music I ever heard" Henryk petted her head. It was more of a natural instinct at this point. Henryk always petted her head whenever it was in range if the situation allowed for it. "Now, should we take a peak at your status?"
Henryk thought about it. He wanted to view Fey's status.
"HOLY-" Henryk slapped a hand on his own mouth. 'I shouldn't swear near her. It isn't anytime soon I will be teaching her these types of things. I will not corrupt her pure mind'
"What surprised papa?" Fey got interested. Not that many things surprised her papa to this extent.
"Hestia, take a look at this" Henryk scratched a few lines of information together and handed it over. He then went and hugged Fey some more.
(AN: Beyond the Xenos skill, he excluded their skills for the sake of their privacy)
"Henryk, this is not usual. Monsters shouldn't have status. That skill of yours is really making me uncomfortable" Hestia was uncomfortable with the current state. If monsters have falna, then that is a whole can of worms nobody wanted to open. "AND THEY ARE LEVE-" Henryk sealed her mouth with his palm. Everyone in Orario would have heard her otherwise.
They both knew that this was coming, having his skills foretell this, but Hestia was holding her thoughts in until seeing it with her own eyes made her lose her nerves and scream it into the air.
"I know. I won't tell anyone. I will make sure my tames, too, keep the secret" He then smiled at Fey. "Of course, Fey would be a good girl and keep this a secret"
"Papa and Fey's little secret, he-he" She got absorbed in her imagination there.
(Line Break)
"So, let's get this straight. You want me to make weapons for your monsters, too?" Welf had a rough idea of what Henryk wanted to do.
"According to our contract, you get most drop items they gather since I own said drop items" Henryk said. His tone was drawn out and he emphasized the words "contract" and "drop items".
"Deal" Welf was convinced. They shook hands.
Ouros will get a spear fully made our of metal, a pair of gauntlets for when his arms lead the movement of his spear and get exposed and a side arm in the form of a large, heavy bowie knife.
Mont will get a pair of hooded katars with gnarly serrations on their blades.
Blanc will get a pair of heavy, very heavy, jagged and sharp-looking pair of medium-sized dual axes.
Noland will get a very sturdy great bow of ~177.8cm (~5' 10" = 70 inches long, also measures ~0.85 Ottars). It was of the same design as that of the Mongolian recurve bow. Its draw weight is around the 300 pounds mark, with arrows that could be used as impromptu mini spears that were made entirely out of metal. (AN: Relive the trauma of Anor Londo archers!! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!)
They were all going to wear light armor that protects their vitals at least.
Henryk also commissioned an extendable mace and a shield for himself. He was denied that extendable mace with the excuse that it would become flimsy on most accounts. His hopes and dream for fantasy overcoming that flaw were now nothing more than that, dream. They just became even more distant.
Welf would get everything prepared in a few weeks' time. They got some spare swords for now.
(Line Break)
"Can I have a meeting with Ganesha? It is something concerning my tamed monsters" Henryk did not remember what exactly did his friend mean by the terminology "Xenos". He was going to ask Ganesha about them. If he knew anything, it would be a great help. 'It's probably stupid of me to do this. I don't care, though. I need to know what a xenos is. And if it's Ganesha, he's trustworthy'
After getting Ganesha's permission, one of the guards led him to a waiting room and left.
"I, Ganesha, have arrived. Welcome to our familia's home" After only a few minutes, Ganesha showed up. He was as flamboyant and loud as ever. "What brought you here today, young man?"
"Ganesha, I have a very important question for you. If there are any people hearing this, I want you to order them to cover their ears for a bit" Ganesha raised his right hand and formed a fist. He signaled the hidden guards to cover their ears at Henryk's request.
"What's a xenos?" Henryk did not see it, but Ganesha's eyes widened greatly.
'He already knows about the xenos? Now this is getting interesting' Ganesha's smile turned into a wide smile full of excitement. He signaled for the hidden guards to uncover their ears.
"Don't worry, the hidden ones know about the xenos. As for what a xenos is, they are a race of intelligent monsters of various species" Ganesha sat down. His boisterous and light attitude was replaced by something somber. "But might I ask, how did you know?"
"A skill of mine allows me to see things regarding my monsters. The skill stated the term. Also, all monsters I've tamed so far became one. I told myself that if anyone knew, it should be you" Henryk said.
"Young Henryk, what would you do if one of the dungeon-borne xenos asked you for help?" Ganesha asked with a gesture of his hand. 'Now, it is time for the important question'
"Well, all my tamed monsters, up till now, have become xenos. It's a given I will help if they were good people" Henryk said, treating his answer as a matter of fact. "My daughter's one. I'd treat them all as people, much like how I treat my daughter"
"GOOD! THAT'S VERY GOOD TO HEAR!" Ganesha burst out in boisterous laughter at the good news. Any help was welcome, and this by far is the greatest help they could get. Someone with a proper taming skill that makes xenos, someone from a small familia that will be viewed as a dark horse, someone like that being friendly was an opportunity. "What do you say about meeting them in person to see for yourself?"
"I wouldn't mind it. I have one condition, to go unannounced. I want to see their true colors" Henryk said. This was his method to see what they would choose to do in the face of an unknown person.
"Then prepare, for you are going to be escorted to the entrance of their lair by Ganesha's guards" Somehow, Ganesha found another place to stuff his name in. He just does it whenever and wherever.
"Before that, do you have a saddle that fits a hippogriff?" Henryk said, fighting against his disgust with himself. 'Fey... doesn't like it if I refuse to be on her back. I need to make it more comfortable for her, as much as I can'
(Line Break)
Henryk returned home, if the dilapidated church could be called that.
"I'm home" Henryk gave a greeting, expecting a reply if someone is here. It was still an hour or two before sunset.
"Welcome back. You are early today?" Hestia herself just returned from her shift. She was not expecting Henryk to be back so soon.
"I decided to proceed with certain things of interest. I came here first to inform you. I will be away for a day on a personal business with my daughter" Henryk said.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! NOT FEY! I WON'T BE ABLE TO SLEEP THE NIGHT WITHOUT HUGGING HER!!!" Hestia protested against Fey going with him, bowling her eyes out. She would be dealing with a dilemma for the period Henryk is not present since her blanket would not be as warm without Fey.
(Line Break)
"So, you will be my escort? Who are you again?" Henryk was messing with the escort guard assigned to him on this trek.
"Could you stop that overused joke?" Hashana looked with dead eyes that were deprived of any feeling. He was as unimpressed as he could get with Henryk's greetings. The problem was that his familia members made the same joke regularly. It got really old, really fast.
"Hahahahaha!" Henryk wiped his tears. "I jest, of course. I remember your name, Hashana Dorlia"
Hashana had no words to describe his rage. He should have straight up rejected escorting this daredevil. He did not fear the risk of being wrecked by a higher-level adventurer.
"Papa, who is Hashana Dorlia? Fey doesn't remember that name, papa" Fey was not on the same picture as the two men, thus the brutal honesty. She honestly did not know who her papa referred to as "Hashana Dorlia". Poor Hashana.
(Line Break)
"Papa, when's Fey getting saddled?" Fey was curious about why she was not saddled yet. She quite liked the idea of giving her papa another ride on her fast legs, or a flight. She wanted to share one more of these moments with him.
'I'm to blame for this. One slip of the tongue and I've ruined something beautiful. I should've never mentioned the possibility of riding her back, nor a saddle, near her at all. Now, I feel guilty even if she was the one asking for it. I should've kept my damn mouth shut' "No, sweetie. We'll only use this for a few minutes to trick a certain group of people and then remove it"
"Boooo~!" Fey disproved. "Fey wanted to share a moment with papa" Fey unknowingly guilt-tripped him.
'My conscience's being ripped in two. Which choice should I make? Should I listen to my father-senses? Or should I listen to my papa-senses?' Henryk was having an inner battle, trying his best to keep his conscience intact.
'I wonder if I can take my life after this mission is done?' Hashana was forced to listen to all their sweet conversations without being able to relate. It felt awkward enough to wish for suicide. Now, only if it would not have tarnished Ganesha's name.
"By the way, Hashana, can my daughter eat most, if not all, of the magic stones?" Henryk tried to divert Fey's attention from the subject of the saddle.
"Can Fey eat some snacks, mister?" Thankfully, Fey's attention span is sort of short. She promptly switched her focus towards food.
"You can, girl. Just make sure to not over-indulge in them" Hashana was done with life. He just wanted to move on with this job. They were already on floor 17.
"Papa! Look! Another bull!" A wild minotaur appeared.
"Wait, Hashana! Keep this one alive" Henryk had a very impulsive idea, an intrusive thought one might call it.
"Why?" Hashana was about to kill the minotaur any moment now.
"I want to tame it" Henryk got a glint in his eyes. It was the glint that appeared in the eyes of someone who had found a treasure.
The minotaur was unsettled by Henryk's gaze. It was not used to lower things looking at it as if it was prey, since it spawned a few days ago that is. Its small world was shaken for a moment.
Hashana proceeded to do as told. He weakened the minotaur until it was about to die. Henryk then used some of the magic stones from more than one other minotaur they killed while Fey was busily dining on other magic stones.
After about five minotaur stones, it was finally tamed. As with Blanc, the minotaur's appearance changed since it was tamed with other minotaurs' magic stones. Its skin turned an ashen gray. As for its fur, it turned a bloody crimson, as if always dyed in fresh blood. The legs changed from what should be in likeness to a human's into a cow's. Its eyes had no irises, they were pure white. The whole image left those who saw it feeling great dread and fear for one's life just being in its presence.
(AN: Think of the illustrations from the manga. That is how this one looks right now but with different colors. I will put an image here for good measure)
'The lines I'll say are a bit too cheesy, but I feel like I have to say them. It feels as if this chance won't come again' Henryk took a really deep breath, and opened his mouth with the most cursed words his tongue will utter for a long while ready. "They are rage, brutal, without mercy. But you... you will be worse. Against all the evil that the dungeon can conjure, all the wickedness that non-intelligent monsters can produce, I will send unto them... only you. Rip and tear... until it is done. Go! Taurus!" 'CRINGE! SO FUCKING CRINGE! I WISH THE GROUND COULD JUST SPLIT OPEN AND SWALLOW ME!' Henryk was dying internally.
"RIP AND TEAR!!!" Taurus started charging in a random direction, ripping a poor ligerfang in half using his bare hands. He did not acknowledge its blood and viscera and charged in a random direction, probably after the next monster. Taurus did not forget to eat the ligerfang's magic stone before going. His rampage will not end anytime soon.
All this unfolded before the eyes of the trio.
"Umm, did I just unleash some unbelievable evil?" Oh, how poor his decision was. Henryk did not know it at the time, but his words were a mantra for Taurus. He will rip and tear his way brutally through the dungeon. He will shower in the blood, viscera and bits of guts from his torn-apart enemies, devouring their magic stones to go after ever tougher prey non-stop.
"I... don't know. This's probably some weird fever dream or some sorta nightmare. I better reach the end of this nightmare soon, before I go insane" Hashana was not even sure if this was reality anymore.