(3rd person PoV)
(At 7 years old)
For a few months, Nephelont and Eucleia went through intensive training to prepare them for the dungeon. By intensive, we are looking at things that will pass as child abuse in a more modern world with no monsters or magic. Henryk or Carillon would have stopped them if the children were not the ones demanding such harsh training.
During that time, Henryk and Carillon taught Nephelont more applications they knew of the red lightning, AKA Ancient Dragons' Lightning, and how to wield both swords and spears. However, while Nephelont got to experience the joy of using cool magic, Eucleia envied him. She was feeling left out whenever it was time for Nephelont to train his magic.
Today, she hoped that her first update since birth would give her a magic to use to compete with Nephelont.
"Aunty Hestia, could you update Lia's status?" Eucleia was fidgeting and fiddling with her fingers, but she pushed through in spite of the feeling she felt now. She felt shy when she requested an update.
"Will you lay down here?" Hestia patted the sofa as she stood up, a beaming smile adorning her face. "This will be your first update. What is the occasion?"
Eucleia laid on her back. Hestia chuckled reminding Eucleia that the falna is on her back, not her belly. Eucleia scrambled to lie with her face down.
Hestia brought a needle and grabbed a chair to sit on beside the sofa.
"Deary, you may feel dizzy after the update. Be ready" Hestia said softly while rubbing Eucleia's hair.
"Lia is strong! Lia won't feel dizzy!" Eucleia bravely said. She was excited. 'Would Lia have magic she could play and compete with Nephelont with?'
"Here we go" Hestia let a drop of her ichor activate Eucleia's falna for the update.
After looking at some of the hieroglyphs, Hestia's brain went numb.
(Line Break)
(AN: Just to remind you, this status is the accumulation of 7 years of effort. From crawling, struggling to learn how to walk, learning how to handle weapons, fighting with said weapons, to playing the rough games with a hyper-active demon bunny with draconian energy reserves, the status flared in growth)
Name: Eucleia Crozzo
Familia: Hestia Familia
Level: 1
STR: I0 --> S904
END: I0 --> S991
DEX: I0 --> S942
AGI: I0 --> S928
MAG: I0
Magic:
Sklírynsi Flóges (Tempering Flames):
Fire-type enchanting magic.
Applicable only on smithing metals.
{By the will of Vulcan, thou shalt be set aflame!}
Spell Key: {Incinerate!}
Skills:
Crozzo Blood
Arete Agon (Spirit of Heroic Pursuit. An explanation of the translation will be given in the author's notes section):
Increased growth and heightened clarity when engaged in direct competition or challenged by worthy opponents.
The effect intensifies in proportion to the drive to overcome the opponents.
Allows status development beyond ordinary limits in circumstances where pride, rivalry, or ambition are on the line.
Increases parameters' effective value while in effect.
(Line Break)
'I expected this kind of skill from Nephelont, not you...' Hestia was frozen for a good minute, literally, a whole minute.
"Uh... Aunty Hestia?" Eucleia has grown uneasy. 'Why is Aunty silent?' The silence made her uneasy that something went wrong with her falna.
"Yes... ? Yeah?" Hestia regained composure. "Nothing went wrong. I was merely surprised since you got both a magical spell and a skill" Hestia copied her status on a parchment then put it to the side.
"Lia, can you keep your status a secret form everyone else?" Hestia asked the little red bunny.
"Um!" Eucleia nodded fervently. "Lia can keep secrets!"
"Even from the golden bunny? Hm?" Hestia's face morphed into a knowing grin and Eucleia's confidence crumbled.
"... No..." Eucleia fidgeted with her hands behind her back. She was naturally very open with Nephelont. It was both ways, too. Nephelont did not keep secrets from her.
They could not keep secrets from each other even if they wanted to. They practically lived the same life. They went everywhere together, ate together, played together, studied together, practiced together, played fighting against each other, and at the end of the day, they slept in the same bed. Except for private moments, they were together all the time. There was no reason to think to keep secrets in such a life.
"Bring golden bunny here" Hestia told Eucleia. "I will update his falna for the first time as well"
"Yes!" Eucleia thought it was only fair that he as well got an update. She would have hated to have an unfair advantage over him while they still competed.
"What will become of the two of you?" Hestia was curious yet dreadful of the result of their attempts to have a clear rank in everything. "Would you still help each other in spite of it as adults?" The thought plagued her.
Moments later, Nephelont busted in looking sharp in more ways than one. His skin showed some hints of scales, Hestia noticed. He did not seem to notice it, though.
'He wouldn't think of it as weird when he had it his whole life' Hestia reasoned.
"Grandma Hestia!" Hestia saw his nails become slightly thicker. "Is it true that you will update my falna?!" He was too excited to passively remain in a completely human form as usual.
"Yes, it is true!" Hestia gave him a toothy smile that matched his excitement. "I want to see how far you grew as well! Lia already had hers updated! Now it's your turn!"
"Yay!" Nephelont hugged Eucleia, which she happily returned. They started jumping in joy. "Red bunny! Congrats!"
"Thanks! Golden bunny!" Eucleia replied.
'Wait a minute, when did they start calling each other bunnies? I don't remember when that happened' Hestia wandered with her thoughts until Nephelont sat in front of her at the sofa. 'Doesn't matter. They can call each other cute nicknames if they wanted to'
"Golden bunny, I need you to lie belly down, so I have access to your back" Hestia instructed him clearly.
"Alright~!" Nephelont did as he was told. If Hestia's mind was numbed by Eucleia's status, Nephelont's made it go blank.
(Line Break)
(AN: Again, this is the accumulation of 7 years' worth of effort. Also, Nephelont's corrupted skills will be replaced by ... to ease reading his status as an audio-book)
Name: Nephelont Cranel
Familia: Hestia Familia
Level: 1
STR: I0 --> S903
END: I0 --> A854
DEX: I0 --> A892
AGI: I0 --> S999
MAG: I0 --> S941
Magic:
Dragon Heart Magic
Ariel
Skills:
...
Evlogía tou Aiólos (Blessing of Aeolus):
Grants the ability to be one with the wind without the use of {Ariel}.
Falna or not, this skill remains active.
(Line Break)
'Did he just get that? I am dreaming right now?' Hestia remembered the skill. It was the same one she saw when Ais married Bell, still a part of Loki's familia but living with Hestia's permanently.
"Do you listen to the winds?" Hestia said while copying his status onto a piece of parchment.
"Mommy and grammas Aria and Aeolus helped me with practice! And Aunty Riveria helped me with theory! Her magic lessons were very fun to listen to, too!" Nephelont was enjoying the memories of studying magic. Some part of him instinctively drove him to like it. He did not know why, nor did he think deeply about it. Fun is fun.
"How many times did you explode?" Hestia jabbed the side of a red-tinted golden bunny, one who was embarrassed to mention how many times that happened.
"Golden bunny exploded 427 times during and outside the lessons!" Eucleia, innocently oblivious to the repercussions of her words, told Hestia. Hestia proceeded to poke fun at Nephelont, who chased her around with a pouty face and balled fists. He was going to pummel her with his mighty fists, something he did not know Hestia could shrug off.
(In Hephaestus's personal forge)
'To think there'd come a time when I break my own promises...' Hephaestus said, disappointed in herself after she was done making these weapons. She did not even need to weigh her options to know that the children are far more important to her than one promise, her promise to Hestia to never make another living growth-type weapon.
Nephelont's weapon was a pair, a far-eastern sword and a spear, recommendation of Henryk and Carillon. The spear was made entirely of a mix of metals and was made intentionally heavier at the tip. The distribution of its weight would allow him to wield it as well as he would a wooden stick with a metal spike on top.
Eucleia's sling was made from a special type of plant fiber acquired from the dungeon. It has good durability and tensile strength. The sling had leather for the bag, tough monster leather that would not wear or tear easily.
Hephaestus and Welf put all their efforts into these two's weapons.
Both bunnies were wearing light leather armor. Although their parents wanted them to be safe, they also did not want them to be complacent about the dungeon and its dangers. That was the reason why the weapons were made to be growth weapons, with Nephelont's being able to grow bigger if he fed it the metals that it is composed of. Also, considering Eucleia's magic, Hephaestus made her daughter metal balls to use as projectiles.
(AN: Hephaestus added the minimum required amount of metal to the sling to be able to inscribe it with hieroglyphs. A metal ring replaced the noose that wraps one of the throwing hand's fingers and a small pin was added to hold onto the other end of the sling's rope. The two pieces were barely big enough to stuff the hieroglyphs into)
(In the dungeon)
(1st floor)
Nephelont ran straight in, hoisting his small spear high and poised to strike any who dare attack him. His expectant and excited eyes made him adorable and endearing to the adults' eyes. Eucleia was doing the same from some steps back but with her sling.
An unfortunate goblin had the mishap of stumbling on the two bunnies as they entered the first floor.
"This one is mine!" Nephelont sprinted with the spear poised to stab it with his weight behind it, but before he reached the goblin, Eucleia blasted its head off with her sling.
As Nephelont was close enough, some blood and gore splattered onto him. Both felt like vomiting at the sight. They were warned that killing monsters will expose them to blood and bits of internal organs, but the personal experience of it made them feel the weight of reality on a whole other level.
For the better part of what remained of their 8th year, the two little bunnies tried to adjust to seeing monster blood and guts spilled all over the floor, covering them and the walls. Nephelont adjusted to the violence quicker than Eucleia did, but not by much.
(3rd person PoV)
(At 8 years old)
(The dungeon)
(1st floor)
"Red bunny! I will hunt more monsters than you today!" After some time to recover, Nephelont picked up his weapons and stood up again. He almost forgot to add another thing. "Also, no stealing!" He was bitter that his monster was taken from him.
Unknowingly, Nephelont's declaration activated Eucleia's skill. Hearing his words, Eucleia wanted to split paths at the closest opportunity.
"We can go down to the 12th at most..." Riveria nodded hopelessly in Bell's direction. It was anonymously agreed upon that they would split groups once they reach the 10th floor. Bell and Ais would go with Nephelont while Welf and Riveria go with Eucleia.
Marching the remainder of the floor, no monsters were spotted. The number of adventurers camping the floor was simply too high. Any monsters were killed immediately without fully exiting the confines of the dungeon's walls.
(2nd floor)
On this floor, the party encountered a few dungeon lizards. Nephelont almost drooled looking at them. He quickly shook his head and pocketed the magic stones of the ones he killed.
Some kobold and goblin stragglers were also killed along the way.
In this floor as well, there were many adventurers camping.
(3rd floor)
On this floor, Nephelont and Eucleia faced a problem. Nephelont sneezed a bit too hard while trying to shout something and burned the hallway, cremating three kobolds accidentally.
"Lucky us" Bell commented, imagining how bad it would have been if Nephelont sneezed like this at home. "We may need to infuse salamander wool into every wall, floor and ceiling of the mansions. We'd also need to be alert in public settings" All nodded to his words.
"That was cool!" Eucleia's eye sparkled with wonder. She did not know that he could breathe fire like this.
"Am I?!" Nephelont struck a proud pose, basking in Eucleia's praise. A moment later, he had a thought. "Wait a minute! Since when could I breathe fire?!" He thought of a way to kill without blood just now. He tried to adjust, yet he still feels a little queasy when he sees a certain amount of blood. Not to mention the smell of it.
Although it was cool and almost effortless, Nephelont decided to only use it when absolutely needed. He wanted to count his magic stones against Eucleia's to see who wins. No winner if there are no magic stones to count.
(6th floor)
"Dad! The monsters are too slow here! Nephelont wants to go to lower floors!" Nephelont whined incessantly. True to his words, the monsters had no time to react before getting stabbed, cut apart, pelted or bludgeoned to death. Some were also zapped with lightning before getting butchered.
Nonetheless, Nephelont wanted to fight monsters that made him take the fight seriously. He wanted an epic tale made in his name, one like his father's against 'the eye-less black gecko', whatever kind of monster was that. The tale made it sound strong, and he wanted to fell a beast of that magnitude at the very least.
(7th floor)
After easily dissipating some war shadows and blinding some frog shooters, Nephelont and Eucleia finally reached the 7th floor.
Eucleia got the prickly feeling of bugs crawling all over her skin from here on until the 10th floor.
Many, many bugs felt the wrath of a demi-goddess's sling that day. She went berserk.
(8th floor)
"Golden bunny! Look! Uncle Bell!" Eucleia, starry-eyed, pointed at a needle rabbit. Henryk had a big laugh when he knew about it later.
(10th floor)
Eucleia was greatly relieved when she was told that no insectoid monsters spawned on the 10th floor.
'Wait until she knows about the crystal mantis and what bug-type monsters spawn in the large tree labyrinth' Welf laughed awkwardly while thinking of what could be the near future.
While standing on the outcrop overlooking the initial area of the 10th floor, Nephelont saw a green lump moving behind the fog. He correctly assumed it was an orc and decided to go have the jump on it.
Eucleia, spotting a group of imps in another direction, readied her sling and went their way.
The adults accompanying them today were Bell, Ais, Welf and, in place of Hephaestus, Tiona. Bell and Ais watched over Nephelont while Welf and Tiona watched over Eucleia.
Seeing as the children were barely keeping up with the number of monsters spawning, the adults decided to limit them to the 10th floor until they got more real experience in fights where they are alone while facing many foes at once. They also told them that, should they remain solo, they need to become level 2 before going deeper than the 12th floor.
(After coming out of the dungeon)
"Congratulations, son! You won by a margin of one more monster!" Bell held him by the waist and threw him into the air. Nephelont, for his part, cracked a wide smile.
"I'll win next time!" Eucleia declared with burning determination. She also wanted Welf to throw her in the air like Bell did to Nephelont.
(Updated Status)
Name: Nephelont Cranel
Familia: Hestia Familia
Level: 1
STR: S903 --> S999
END: A854 --> S999
DEX: A892 --> S999
AGI: S999
MAG: S941 --> S999
Magic:
Dragon Heart Magic
Ariel
Skills:
...
Evlogía tou Aiólos
(Line Break)
Name: Eucleia Crozzo
Familia: Hestia Familia
Level: 1
STR: S904 --> SS1157
END: S991 --> SS1268
DEX: S942 --> SSS1349
AGI: S928 --> SS1011
MAG: I0 --> B784
Magic:
Sklírynsi Flóges
Skills:
Crozzo Blood
Arete Agon