Bell Winters]
After my Rank Up, I realized just how much stronger I was than before. I played around with measuring myself by administering a simple test: number of push-ups, sit-ups, and a run around the city. It was the best way I could think of to get a quick, down, and dirty representation of my growth.
I counted out the number of push-ups and sit-ups I could pump out in a five-minute period, and then moved on to see how quickly I could run a single lap around the circumference of the city's wall. After my Rank Up I did it again, and while it wasn't a direct six-fold increase like Granpa said it was, it was pretty darn close! I believe that there are some severe inefficiencies in the body mechanics of the exercises used- particularly in the push-ups and the sit-ups; I was rechambering so damn fast that I couldn't stay on the ground, which meant that my numbers were a fair bit lower than they would have been if I had Spider-Man's ability to stick to things.
Where the real differences came into being was when I returned to the 5th Floor again with the recommended Mid-Steel and treated-Leather equipment instead of the Low-Steel and untreated-Leather I had been using previously. My first Goblin came at me, and it was... just so slow. Six times slower. My control over my body was also six times better as well- I put Last Laugh into the monster's left nostril with millimeter precision; everything aligned perfectly. My Strength and Dexterity allowed me to position my body perfectly, my Agility allowed me to move my body into position quickly enough to take that position, and the enhanced Agility and Dexterity combined slowed my perception of time to the point where I could put the blade exactly where I wanted it, when I wanted it.
I felt like the Master Chief after he'd just completed his augmentation surgeries and dropped a dumbbell weight onto the floor; his eyes were telling him it was dropping five times slower than it should have been, but his internal clock and ears told him it dropped exactly how it should.
Last Laugh parted the Goblin's upper half of its head from its neck, and I felt like I was watching in some sort of video game "Bullet Time" as the corpse tumbled away; my eyes able to track the trajectories of the body as well as the head. My ears alerted me to move incoming assaults, and my head and eyes snapped back to the threats, and I easily dispatched each and every monster that came my way like they were toddlers trying to come up and tug on my pant legs.
All of the skill and precision work that I had been doing for the past 5 and a half years now had the stats and parameters to back them up, and I felt like a mother fucking GOD.
It was effortless, like a dance, twisting and manipulating my body, my blades, bow, and arrows were mere extensions of myself, and the once pulse-pounding fights of a month ago were now little more than strolls in the park.
It was no wonder seven Level 1s attacking in concert were needed to bring down an average Level 2.
According to Grandpa, every Adventurer who Ranked Up experienced a three-fold increase if their parameters were A-Rank and below. Those who cracked S-Rank got a four-fold increase, but those that maxed their stats at 999-S received a six-fold increase, but the number of Adventurers who did that was slim to none; most took their Rank Ups for the easy boost at D, and C. It was only when the Rank Up requirements got harder, and the time between Level Ups lengthened that people stayed in their Ranks long enough to push their stats past C.
The issue was that the amount of time and effort needed for a regular High-Class Adventurer to push their stats into S-Rank was considered inefficient, this is doubly true when one thinks about the frequent Stat Updates they do that automatically make pushing themselves even harder because of the difficulty decreasing inversely with their stat's gradual rise.
Ultimately, it came down to the 5th through 12th Floors not even offering me anything resembling a challenge; I'd have to fight the Infant Dragon or contend with a swarm of the faster Almiraj and Hellhounds to get anything done here.
The issue is that I had a nanny attached to my hip in the form of Tsubaki, and two lead weights attached to my legs in the form of Naaza Erisuis and Liliruca Arde.
Okay, they weren't dead weight, that was an uncharitable comparison, but while they were both cute, Lili was a normal girl my age, and Naaza was only two years older; trying to instill into them a sense of urgency and an understanding on why precision and control were so damn important when it came down to challenging one's self in the Dungeon with self-imposed Stats Update moratoriums was incredibly difficult.
I actually had to use a chalkboard and draw some little informative comics with bullshit numbers to make it sink in.
"If I earn 10 Excelia for killing a Goblin with my Low-Steel sword on the 5th Floor with my frozen stats, then as long as my equipment doesn't change and my stats don't change, then I will always earn 10 Excelia."
I tapped the chalkboard as I drew a stick figure fighting a stick figure with a big goblin nose and slaying it.
"However, if I use a Mid-Steel sword on this Goblin, then because the difficulty of the fight was lowered, the amount of Excelia I earn drops as well- let's say it drops down to 9 per kill. If I get a status update that increases my stats by 50 points in all stats, then that further drops the amount of Excelia I will earn- let's say 2 Excelia points per 50 Status Points..."
I draw out the numbers on the board as Lili watches with her mouth open while Naaza's sleepy expression remains, but her floppy ears are perked.
"So if I kill 100 goblins in Option A, I will earn 1,000 Excelia. In Option B, if I used a Mid-Steel sword and gained 100 status points, then I would only earn 500 Excelia." I brush the chalk off on my pants, "Now, these numbers obviously aren't exact, but I am living proof that keeping the difficulty as high as possible while still keeping as safe as possible, is a valid option. You don't advance as quickly in the Dungeon, but this method forces you to become as skilled as possible for the Level."
"I hit my hard limit on the 5th Floor with the Stats available to me- I was very, very skilled, but I just did not have the stats to back up my abilities." I placed my hands on my hips and looked at my two students, "I won't force you to do the same thing, but I will ask that you at least give it a chance to work; you might just find that while it will be hard, the experience will be worth it."
I tilt my head to the side as I look out the window towards the four-faced mechanical clock in the middle of the Hephaestus district on a pole and hummed. "Now, it is time for us to do our chores, Lili."
The Pallum slumped in the chair as Naaza snorted, "That is my cue to leave. Have fun Lili-chan!"
"I hate shoveling coal."
It took a few months for it to sink in, but after their first status update after a quarter, they were all surprised at just how much they had grown- Naaza even qualified for a Rank Up thanks to her handling a Monster Party on the 5th Floor that was almost of equal size to the one that had forced her and her original party to flee almost 4 months ago. She used my tactics- using her bow to remove the Capsian Moths first, skirmishing and then breaking the engagement, making space to use her bow and shortsword effectively; her stats were actually higher than mine at the time, and she was using some Mid-Steel instead of the Low-Steel that I had used.
I had been in the low C's whereas Naaza had been high C's with a low B in Dexterity, so the fight wasn't as difficult for her as it had been for myself, but Miach thought that overcoming her previous limitation in such a short amount of time was a worthy story to apply the High-Quality Excelia she had accrued. However, at my suggestion, she refused it and kept the Low to Mid B-Ranked stats she currently had.
We would work on her over the next 6 months to see if we couldn't help her crack into the S-Rank.
Lili, however, had been a Supporter for almost the entirety of her Adventurer career, so her stats were in the low H's when she joined the Hephaestus familia.
It was incredibly difficult handling the girl as she was jealous of Naaza's progress, and had been relegated to fighting on the 1st and 2nd Floors with Tsubaki during the entirety of the four months while I was bringing Naaza up to speed on the 5th, 6th, and 7th Floors.
However, showing her my One Weird Trick to kill the Jack Bird made the little Pallum incredibly pleased; provided she gave me a 25% cut of the weekly profits, I was more than happy to watch the young girl who once scraped and stole for every last valis deposit her 750,000 valis into her account with the familia vault each week.
I was a Level 2 now, so killing the Jack Bird was taboo for me, but that didn't mean that I couldn't have someone else do it for me.
I felt a tug on my collar and looked back to see Tsubaki pointing through the fog on the 12th Floor; Naaza was with Miach today learning how to prepare potions for when she inevitably took her Rank Up, and Lili had her lessons with Hephaestus and the newest batch of prospective Apprentices.
Of the seven that had been with me six months ago, only Himiko and an eccentric Elvish boy named Lemurand were selected to become fully-fledged Apprentices, while the other 5 were told that they could try again after a year's time; to give them more time to grow and mature. This meant that a new batch of Prospectives were now going through my Goddess' teaching program to see if they had what it took to become an Apprentice of the Hephaestus familia.
I had Tsubaki all to myself for today, and that meant I could go far deeper than usual and actually test myself.
This was done with me creating an intentional Monster Party by running through every group of monsters (away from the staircases mind you) and dragging them into one large clump that I then systematically dismantled to the best of my ability. I utilized every last scrap of precision I had to dispatch them with surgical strikes, eliminating excess strength and stamina loss, while switching up my weapons at every available opportunity. I used my bow and arrows just as much as I used my shortsword and twin daggers- I even used my backup knife for more than a few kills just to get a feel for how it actually handles in a fight.
After a few fights to get comfortable, I increased the difficulty by imposing certain limitations- using one arm, or one leg is 'wounded' and I can only limp to the best of my abilities- and there was one monster party that was smaller than the others, so I just went bare-handed and decided "Broken Necks Only".
Orc necks are thick as fuck, and even with my Level 2 strength, they are surprisingly resistant to being snapped. Still didn't stop me from doing it though, but it was a nice diversion- I even got a chuckle out of my senpai as she watched!
Tsubaki stuck towards the edges of the fights to put down any stragglers and warn off approaching Adventurer parties.
Tsubaki's finger flicking my ear snapped me out of my reverie. "Pay attention, Bell-kichi- you hear that?"
I blinked but kept my eyes open and focused on my hearing- closing your eyes to focus in the Dungeon is stupid as hell.
It was incredibly faint, but off in the distance, I heard a number of thumps that were somewhat muffled by the much closer sounds of Orcs and Imps meandering throughout the fog; we were away from the White Tree forest, so Silverbacks were unlikely, and we weren't close to the walls of the Floor so that ruled out Hard Armored. Which was a shame because Hard Armored had a Scaled Leather drop that was on my list of things to farm for because it was a good bit tougher than the Orc Hide drops that Adventurers brought back to the surface; it was also heat resistant as well.
While not as good as the Salamander Wool, you can imbue all of your Dungeon clothes with the effects of the Scaled Leather, giving yourself more full-body protection from heat and cold than just what the Salamander Wool cloaks can provide; that and it means that you don't have a cloak restricting your movements.
Having run through all of the options I look at Tsubaki and arch an eyebrow. "Infant Dragon?"
The woman smiled a bit and nodded before she flicked her Katana free from its scabbard and pulled it free in a single, smooth draw. "If you were protected with Salamander Wool and had your first Status Update- along with a better sword, I might let you take it on, but since you don't, I'll go and handle this. If we're lucky, then maybe we'll get something good from it."
The half-dwarf gave me a grin before she blurred off into the fog, and less than ten seconds later a roar pierced through the air and it quickly cut off; man, she really is something.
Less than a minute later she comes back with a stone the size of a small apple and deposits it into my Supporter Pack with a huff. "I never get anything from those guys. It's like the Dungeon is conspiring against me- 30 years of Adventuring, and the Infant Dragon just doesn't give me anything!"
"That really sucks." I place my hand on her forearm and gave it a few pats; it was hard to hold back my chuckles as the Level 5 sulked over her poor luck regarding the drop of a Level 2 monster, "There, there, 'Baki-nee. It's okay. You can cry on my shoulder if you want."
I take a swat to the back of my head that is enough to ring my bell. Damnit! This is minor abuse! After I regain my footing I reach back and grasp onto my Whisperwood stave and chant out a quick Soothing Touch to reduce the ringing in my skull down to a dull throb.
"Ouch, come on," I grumble a little bit and rub at my head for a few moments until the ground around us starts to crack- a half dozen orcs and imps pulling themselves from the floor. A few howls from the nearby trees got me to drop my pack, and Last Laugh is pulled from its sheath.
Tsubaki crosses her arms and smirks. "Well, have fun."
"Come on, Lili, Naaza. One more set and we're done for the day."
The two young girls are huffing and puffing alongside me as we take the last turn around the Hephaestus familia forge district. "You... are... evil."
Naaza grunted out, her slightly longer legs barely carrying her along with the pace I'd set.
"Lili still has her chores to do after this," The Pallum panted on my other side as sweat poured down her face, "You just get to sit down and listen to Miach-sama talk about plants! You also have way higher stats than Lili- Naaza-chan doesn't get to complain!"
While we couldn't go as fast or as hard as I usually did, I'd found that carrying two large sacks of coal over my shoulders was a fairly decent way to increase the difficulty on myself. I just had to increase my laps- it was an amazing feeling running through the early morning streets of Orario with only a handful of Adventurers in sight, although Lili and Naaza looked more fed up each and every time I lapped them.
We finally slowed our pace down to a walk and swept through the wrought iron gate of the district and as we passed by the coal piles I dropped my sacks with the rest of them and clapped the dust from my shoulders. "Alright you two, up on the bars, let's go."
The two girls huffed but thankfully obeyed; pull-ups were a great exercise.
"Hey, Tsubaki, are these the nodes we are looking for?" I call out to my senpai from over my shoulder. My eyes were carefully looking over a jagged, egg-like protrusion jutting out from the wall on the 12th Floor; there were six of them clustered together, and about twenty paces away there was another cluster of three.
"Yup! Those are the ore nodes we're looking for, good eye." Tsubaki chuckled as she walked up to me and grabbed one of the nodes with her bare hands and tore it off the wall, her fingers crumpling the stone and shaking it free to reveal an oblong chunk of metal that had a dark grey finish and a cubic structure, "This right here? This is Mid-Steel, at least, unrefined Mid-Steel. Once we smelt it and hammer out some of the impurities anyway. Three of these little nodes should make a good longsword of standard length and thickness- if we were to make one how you make your shortswords, we'd probably need five of them."
She cleared all of the rock away from the nodule of Mid-Steel and sat it in my hands before she tilted her head at the rest of them. "I found about eight more clusters along the walls here across the floor, so... get to it."
A sigh escaped my lips as I grabbed onto the pick-ax and sat my pack down on the ground.
"Aw, come on, don't be like that! This is something we all do!" The half-dwarf chuckled as she wiped her dusty hands on her pants, "Every Apprentice gets to try their hand at resource collection, just be thankful you're Level 2, or else you'd be mining the Low-Steel on the 7th Floor; trying to mine those while being set-upon by Killer Ants is no easy task."
Off in the distance, I can hear the howls and roars of Silverbacks. "No, I just get these guys instead. Can we go lower yet?"
I bring the High-Steel pick-ax above my head and swing it down.
25 months after my arrival I finally hit my second wall on the 15th Floor; it was inevitable- even with my skills the sheer number of Almiraj, Hellhounds, along with the introduction of the Lygerfang and Minotaur proved to be the limit.
The rabbit-like monsters were fairly easy to rush down, and the dog monsters really enjoyed standing still for me to pelt them in the face with arrows, but the large lion-tiger monsters had the tendency to fuck my flow of battle up by leaping at me from odd angles; the tiered nature of the terrain on the Middle-Floors letting them take advantage of their cat-like mobility. The Minotaurs? Those I just had to avoid long enough to clear out all of the other monsters, and then I could fight it one on one with little issue; at least, unless they had a landform weapon, those guys were a little trickier.
If only because the landform weapons gave them far more reach.
I slid under the sweeping strike from the Minotaur's halberd, my legs creaking at the sudden change in direction- that was fine, however, I merely adjusted my strike to slip Last Laugh into the monster's kneecap instead. The beast let out a roar of pain and stumbled back, and with its landform weapon out of position, I popped back up to my feet and slid the shortsword into its belly before yanking it free at an angle; the War Shadow Steel was proving its worth as the weapon slipped free easily, even with the Minotaur's substantial muscle mass trying to lock it into place.
It was a favored tactic of the monsters- take a blow and then clench the weapon into place; unless your weapon was slick or you had superior strength, you would either be forced to abandon it or be stuck in range for it to grapple.
The issue is that they didn't usually do this when they had a landform weapon, and if they did it was because they were trying to lock me down in place for another-
I blinked and immediately threw myself forward and left, towards the only direction that I could see for a fact that was clear of monsters, and when I completed my roll I spun around and saw Tsubaki standing there with a Lygerfang impaled on her Katana. A small frown was on her face as she reached up punched a small hole in the side of the large cat monster's skull before yanking her sword free. "That five times in five engagements here on the 15th Floor, Bell-kichi. You're able to handle yourself on the 14th Floor just fine, but the numbers spawning here are just too much for you to handle as you are now."
The Minotaur, for his part, was stumbling back away from Tsubaki, and I took the opportunity to take a flying leap and slipped my blade into his spine, right above the base of the neck; the steel screeched as it ground against the bone, but the strike did the job- the monster locked up and then collapsed like a ragdoll before fading away into ash, leaving his monster core behind.
"Damnit, what's it take to get a Drop Item here?" I grunted to myself as I scanned the area and then seeing it actually clear began inspecting my blade; I was going to have to grind down the edges and re-sharpen it; after six months Last Laugh was roughly halfway through its life-span and I really wanted to make a replacement for it before it broke, but the drops just weren't happening.
I picked up the scattered monster cores from the party in the immediate area before picking up my pack and following Tsubaki as we re-traced our steps back along the corridors; this party had been almost 40 strong, and I had to turn it into a running battle to prevent myself from getting overwhelmed. Still, even then, Tsubaki had to rescue me five times in as many engagements, and that was the "failure condition" Hephaestus, Tsubaki, and I settled on.
I probably could have eked out a better performance if I had more time in the Dungeon, but Hephaestus had me making longswords now, in a similar style to my shortswords; they weren't as resource-efficient, but they were getting pretty good feedback from what the Adventurers were leaving on their "Comment Cards". That was something I introduced to try and get more feedback from the Adventurers who were using my weapons- bring in your receipt of purchase from the Guild, along with a handwritten note on their experience with my blade as compared to the standard shortsword the Guild offers, and get a 5% discount from the Guild on their next purchase of my product.
I had to set up a fund with the Guild where that money would be drawn from, but other than a few bullshit reviews, there were actually a great many who left thoughtful comments- the blades were sturdier, and because they were thicker they could be sharpened more or ground down further if there were chips in the blade. Of course, my design wasn't revolutionary or anything, in fact, most smiths used something similar, but this was the first time such a quality blade was offered to the Guild at this price point.
Overall, people were still using the initial blade they purchased when they otherwise would have had to buy a replacement or two already, and for them, that was a great value for the valis.
I only hoped that my longswords were met with just as much acclaim.
As I picked up the last monster core from my engagement, Tsubaki threaded her fingers through my hair and gave me a light tug. "Come on, Bell-kichi, don't look so sad. You did great in making it this far with just your current abilities- most fresh Level 2s are still at the 11th Floors, and yet you're almost to Big Bull Alley. Just take the update when we get back and I'm sure you'll be looking at Under Resort for the first time in just a couple of months."
I sighed but nodded as much as I could with her fingers in my hair. "I know, I know. It just sucks, you know? You're giving it your all and you hit that point where your best just isn't good enough."
"Everyone hits those points in their career, Bell, if anything, everyone who isn't doing what you're doing hits those points; you just trade slow, gradual progress in stats for large leaps in performance." The walls cracked and Tsubaki grabs me by the hand before tugging me along, "Come on, let's go! I don't feel like drawing my sword again- we're running, all the way back!"
Wait, all the way back!?
Spoiler: Bell Winters
Spoiler: Lilruca
Spoiler: Naaza
These were... actually really quite good. I don't think that Lili was ever this strong in canon considering she didn't really do much, but the little Pallum girl was waving her stat sheet around in my face. "Bell-sama, Bell-sama! Are these really Lili's stats? This can't be right! Lili is a Supporter!"
Naaza sat on a small chair with her hands primly folded in her lap as she gazed at the Pallum with her sleepy eyes. "Don't be silly, Lili-chan, of course, those are your stats. You've been working hard with us every day, have you not? You've been in the Dungeon on the 3rd Floor with Tsubaki-sama working on your technique just as Bell-kun told you to do, have you not?"
Liliruca stopped floundering around when Hephaestus put her ungloved hand on top of the girl's head and began applying head scritches; she might not be using her spell for anything other than training these days, but whenever we went to Hephaestus she used her magic to give herself some form of animal ears- the Goddess always played with them, and honestly?
It seemed rather enjoyable, which was weird because I'd never had any sort of body envy of any kind, but seeing how Naaza and Lili seem to just relax into her hands, the relief seemed pretty real.
I felt a hand come down on top of my head and rough calloused fingers scrubbed roughly at my scalp. "No need to be envious, Usagi-kyun, 'Baki-nee will give you all the head pats you want!"
I'd never seen Naaza look so envious- whether that envy was directed at me or Tsubaki I wouldn't know, but it wasn't like I was going to just lay my head in a young girl's lap and ask her to pet me!
28 months was when I hit my 3rd wall.
Solo clearing the 17th Floor was my goal, and I was nowhere near half of that, even with my last status update. This was my Level 3, I could taste it. I managed to get my hand on a Minotaur horn drop, finally, and with Tsubaki's help I was able to fashion Herd Culler, my High-Steel Minotaur shortsword that was pretty much the same as Last Laugh in every way except the metal had taken on a more blood-red hue.
I retired Last Laugh to a sword mount on Hephaestus' display wall- right next to the very first shortsword I ever made; my Goddess had one of every weapon each of her Children made on display in the long hallway leading up to her office and bedroom. The Apprentice smith's first weapon, their first Drop Item weapon, their first weapon as a Journeyman smith, and their first weapon as a Master smith.
Considering the hundreds upon hundreds of Children she's had in her 300 years since her descent, it was a lot of weapons, but Hephaestus could remember the names of each weapon and the smiths who made them. The few times I wandered past the hallway leading to her office- the Hall of Memories- to drop off my coin earned with the familia's clerks, I sometimes saw her picking up a weapon or armor piece from off the walls and giving it a once over before gently, reverently putting it back into place.
It made me feel some type of way; sad. Nostalgic. Sure, they were gone from the Lower World, but Zeus assured me that those that passed on were in Tenkai waiting for their Divine's return; she would see them again before they returned to the cycle of reincarnation.
Most mortals didn't know that, but they just had a feeling, and for most that was good enough.
"COME! ON! YOU! FUCKERS!" I roared out as Herd Culler sang in my hand, the red High-Steel blade flashing out to sever a Minotaur's leg at the knee; the moment his back hit the rough stone of the 17th Floor I was already on him, the blade plunging into his neck. The bastard was dying, but he still managed to grasp onto the blade, forcing me to disengage and leave the weapon behind.
A swinging fist out of the corner of my eye was unavoidable, so I crossed my arms over my chest and kicked off the ground with the blow- the leap taking more than half of the force out of it. My forearms throbbed painfully, but gripping my dual War Shadow daggers let me know that nothing was broken; I was just going to have hella bruises once this was over- nothing that Soothing Touch couldn't handle.
I needed another spell, but damnit if I wasn't feeling the lack of Jack Bird income; I had sacrificed my quarter to Naaza to help her get some new equipment- I made her a shortsword and twin daggers like my own at cost, but her bow and arrows were something she was going to have to procure for herself, and boy, were bows capable of handling a Level 2's strength expensive!
I've been squeaking by with the bow I brought with me, but the difference between my abilities with a bow and Naaza's was like comparing a hobbyist to a professional Olympic shooter; I could control my strength perfectly and put my arrows right where I wanted them, she couldn't. At least not yet.
However, soon I too would be joining the "30 Million valis Bow Club", not to be confused with Naaza's "5 Million valis Bow Club"; Level 3 would see me on the Middle Floors, and my regular bow and arrows would be better off used for kindling down there.
My knives flashed out and I slew three more Minotaurs before I was able to close the distance and retrieve Herd Culler, but that proved to be my undoing as a Minotaur leaped out at me with a landform club outstretched- that was until it was rendered into a half-dozen pieces. Tsubaki's Katana was sheathed with a 'clack' as she turned to me, "That's 5 for 5, Bell-kichi."
I killed the last two Minotaur in the area with an angry huff.
Barely three months since my last Status Update, and I can't progress any further than this?
On the way back up to the surface, I had to look at this objectively; the monsters on the middle floors were nothing like the monsters on the Upper Floors. They weren't as two-dimensional; while the War Shadows struck from the shadows, they didn't lay ambushes like the Minotaurs did- like the one who almost splattered me. He knew I would return for my weapon, and while his fellows died he sat back and waited where I couldn't see him.
Even with my improved armor and endurance, mistakes down here were amplified- taking a fist the size of a watermelon to the chest by an 800-pound cow monster wasn't the same as getting bitten by even a Hellhound on the 14th Floor. The Minotaurs attacked in groups, displayed rudimentary tactics, and on occasion, used the terrain to their advantage.
There was a reason why the 17th Floor had the highest fatality rate outside of the 7th Floor; fighting off one or two Minotaurs with some Lygerfangs, Almiraj, and Hellhounds supporting was different than fighting off a dozen Minotaurs.
This was doubly true because unlike everyone else, I was chaining them into a Monster Party- a controlled one, but a Monster Party nonetheless. Most 17th Floor encounters would see maybe 4 Minotaurs attack parties at most, but I just had to amp up the difficulty to the highest I could get it, and I'd pull multiple groups in.
By conventional Adventurer standards, what I was doing was certifiably insane, but just like Grandpa told me, I had someone much stronger than me watching my every move- just waiting to pull me out of the fire.
It was calculated risk-taking at its finest, and this was how the Zeus and Hera familias were able to climb to the top and stay there. They could take risks that most people wouldn't dream of because unlike everyone else who moved in their own power circles, the Level 5s, 6s, and 7s of the Zeus familia had no problem dedicating hundreds of hours each year to watch over their member's growth.
As much as I really liked the main characters of the show, I couldn't really see someone like Bete Loga or Finn Deimne willing to spend hours watching over their borderline Level 1s- no, most of the time that was done on their own time and at their own risk; the members of the familia, unless they were part of a large party, either grew on their own or they died on their own.
The "I gots mine" mentality that Adventurers displayed really irked me, but I was grateful for Tsubaki for looking after me, and I made sure to pay it forward by looking after Naaza and Liliruca while she did her own thing.
When I grew strong enough to watch over her, then... it would be my turn.
Spoiler: Bell Winters
Spoiler: Liliruca
Spoiler: Naaza
"Lili would like to start accompanying you and Naaza-chan when you go to the Middle Floors now, Bell-sama." The Pallum fidgeted in her chair as the three of us sat in Hephaestus' office.
The sleepy-eyed puppy looked incredibly pleased with herself, and I gave her some ear scratches as I handed Naaza back her status sheet; the little cheinthrope's tail swished from side to side. Once the reward was distributed I had to sit back down and concentrate. Lili was able to clear the 8th and 9th Floors by herself but still struggled with the larger enemies like the Orcs, if only because her smaller size meant that she was forced to use an even shorter sword than I was; I was 6 months away from 12 years of age, and I was about to start shooting up like a weed.
I hoped.
Being stuck with Bell's canon height would be too much for someone who had been 6'2" in my previous life.
Naaza was now ranging down to the 13th Floor and was finding out just how difficult it was to do solo- though her familia Captain, a Level 3 cheinthrope by the name of Harrold Murn, had taken over for Tsubaki in making sure she could push herself efficiently.
If we included Lili then I would end up slowing myself down, but at the same time, I didn't want to be Bell Cranel and just up and leave everyone who was supporting me in the dust. I was still on track for a 12 month Level Up with my stats as they were now... I also needed to work on my magic more, so picking up another stave and spell would let me practice working the backline more- getting Lili used to a more front-line role with Naaza would be good experience for everyone involved.
I looked up at Tsubaki, "I think that we can start partying up down to the 13th floor, but we'll take a month or so down on the 10th, 11th, and 12th Floors. Does that sound alright?"
My Captain grinned broadly and nodded while Hephaestus put down some paperwork and smiled softly. "Good, good. I think that you three will have a nice, well-rounded party for one so small. I don't think Tsubaki-chan or Murn-kun will need to supervise you if you're only going down to those floors."
"Greetings Lenoa-san! I'm coming in!" I called out after handling the "secret knock" on the outside of the old bat's shop.
Spoiler: Lenoa the Witch
"Ah, Bell Winters-kun, come in boy, come in. Don't let this old lady scare you off. Ehehehehe." The old Witch crooned as I slipped inside its plain, drab interior; I had to fight back a sneeze- for how frequented this place was by the mages of the city, it always felt as though no one ever came by. "My, it's been over a year since you last stopped by! Tell me, how have you been progressing, hmmm? Since you've come in here to purchase another spellbook then I would have to guess that you've made some progress, yes?"
I took a moment to look around the shop, walking past the bookshelves while we chatted back and forth. "I can cast Soothing Touch in about 20 seconds now with my Magic stat and focus- almost as quickly as I can speak the chant."
"Oh? Even if it is a beginner spell, that is quite the feat, dearie. I suppose that you're looking for a more advanced healing spell?" Leona spoke as she tended the same cauldron I saw during my last visit.
"Yes, preferably one with a stamina recovery component. I remember you telling me that Spring Vitality was out of my reach then, do you think that would be the case now?" My fingers slipped over the spine of one tome entitled 'Spirited Touch', "Hmm... what about 'Buff Magics'?"
She let out a curious squawk, but since I was behind the bookshelf I couldn't see her. "I don't know what a 'Buff Magic' is. Never heard of it."
I blinked and rubbed my chin, "What about ah... 'Stat Improvement' or 'Support magics'?"
"Ah! Those! I might have a few that would meet your requirements- 'Dwarven Might', 'Fairy Grace', 'Magician's Wonder'. Those spells boost whoever you target with enhanced Strength and Endurance, improved Dexterity and Agility, and boost the effects of all spells cast within an area of effect no matter what they may be."
"Those sound pretty impressive, Lenoa-san. By about how much?" I walked around the shelves until I found the 'Support Magic' shelf and found the titles she listed and one of them caught my eye. "And what about 'Total Body'?"
"Hmmm, the two buffing spells increase stats by roughly three whole letter grades, and Magician's Wonder is a nifty little spell, but it mainly boosts the magic of Mages within the circle. It has been tested quite thoroughly by the community, and you can expect a thirty percent improvement in spell effectiveness- but that is only for spells of a Medium chant or lower; the spell is too weak to reinforce the framework of a long-chat spell." The Witch gave me a critical look, "As for 'Total Body', it gives roughly a Letter Grade and a half of all stats except Magic. So it is the perfect happy medium between 'Dwarven Might' and 'Fairy Grace'; the added bonus is that since it is touch-based you can split the spell between multiple people."
"And if I cast this spell while within the area of 'Magician's Wonder' then I can boost the effectiveness of the 'Total Body' by 30%?"
She grinned and poked a finger at me, "Now you're thinking like a proper Support Mage! So few of those nowadays, everybody wants to be the next Riveria Ljos Alf with the flashy, powerful spells; nobody wants to remember that the greatest tool a Mage has is versatility- any lunk can swing an ax, but a Mage can have a spell for any situation. Now, as for a healing spell... 'Forest Breeze' is probably at the level you are right now; a little more effective than a Low-Grade healing potion, but it has a 1-meter area of effect and can rejuvenate someone half as well as a Stamina potion."
She scratched her chin and hopped off of her chair and walked around to a display rack holding a variety of staves- Whisperwood in a pale birch, Songwood was white oak in color, Whitewood was as white as chalk but almost pine in texture, Chantwood a rich mahogany, Oathwood in dark ebony, Prayerwood was golden oak in coloration, and Godswood was the most unique of them all- it appeared to be a pale blue crystal that had been grown into a single branch.
"Come here, dearie, and don't even think about touching the Godswood- that display piece cost me 3 Billion valis alone; so just don't. Okay?" She grunted as she waved me over.
"I know not to touch things when I'm told not to, Lenoa-san."
Her frown turned upside down into a big, shit-eating grin. "Okay, good. I'd hate for you to die from the curses I placed upon it- taking them off for someone who can actually afford to even look at it is a huge hassle. You are a very diligent boy, and more importantly, a future customer who's going to be giving me a lot of money; I'd hate for you to die so soon!"
I blink. She's kidding, right?
Regardless, she grabbed the Whisperwood and handed it over to me. "Okay, run through your Soothing Touch spell for me, I'm going to hold on to you and watch, okay?"
It was functionally similar, and I went through the chant and the weaves of the mana at my usual pace. Once I healed her she gave me a big grin. "Well done, boy! 23 seconds and I didn't even feel you hurrying. For self-taught you sure did excellently; why if I were a Mage looking for an apprentice I'd eat my pointy little hat if I couldn't pick you up!"
My eyebrows reached towards the ceiling, my voice was a little more hopeful than I would have liked. "Are... you offering to teach me?"
"Oh? No, not at all! I have my hands full with my shop, taking on an Apprentice, much less someone who's already an Apprentice to another art would be far too much for either of us to handle." The woman chuckled and pinched my cheek before she took the Whisperwood staff out of my hand and put the Songwood one into my hand, "Okay, now try it again."
The Songwood was a little different- the Whisperwood was exactly like its namesake: it wanted you to be gentle with your flows, slowly moving them throughout the medium as you would hold a quiet conversation; like you were chatting over dinner plans with the Missus while the kids were napping on the couch. Songwood seemed to demand a certain... cadence to it. It was lighter, more airy, like songbirds chirping in the morning, or a... an Army Running cadence.
Yeah, that felt more accurate, at least in my opinion.
"12 Seconds... not bad, it usually takes time to learn the little quirks of each Spellwood- but those quirks can become quite handy once you learn them all; you'll find that certain spells also perform better with certain kinds of woods- most true Support Mages often carry two or sometimes three different staves depending on which spells they're using." The old woman chuckled as she took the staff from my hand and lead me over to the counter, "However, Songwood is a blanket improvement over Whisperwood for you in any case- that's more for when you're trying to decide between Chantwood, Oathwood, and Prayerwood."
I looked around and caught sight of a display case in which an unassuming tome sat. The title was simply "Magic", with a five-pointed star sitting prominently in the middle of the cover.
"Is that a Grimoire?" I asked, and the old Witch patted me on the cheek.
"Yes it is, I haven't put it up for sale yet, why are you interested?" The tip of her hat bobbed as she hopped back up onto her stool and began stirring the cauldron again.
"Uh... a personal magic that takes almost no effort to use?"
Did she even need to ask? I had over 145 Million saved up between my Jack Bird killings over the past two years and my earnings in the Middle Floors with Tsubaki. To be quite honest, the valis was burning a hole in my pocket, and since I had to be exact with my upgrades I had a bunch of money with nothing to spend it on.
"Give me a firm price on the Grimoire, 'Total Body', 'Magician's Wonder', 'Forest Breeze', and a Songwood stave." I stepped forward and put my hands... and my chin on the counter; it was a pretty tall counter.
I watched her tongue work over her teeth as she fixed me with a gimlet eye. "I could get a lot of money on that Grimoire if I put it up for auction... the last one I sold for 122 Million. All told you'd be looking at 150 Million valis."
I felt my heart sink and I sighed.
"But..."
Okay, my heart is rising again.
"I think I can give it to you for... 130 Million valis. You think you can afford that?" She grinned, "You're a hard-working lad if from what I've heard is true, and when a young child can teach himself magic in between delving into the Dungeon and learning an involved trade such as blacksmithing? I'd like to think that even if I can't directly teach you I can at least do what I can to nurture that talent. Besides, I'd just be selling that thing to the same Goddess every time anyway- Freya always buys me out every chance she gets, and when was the last time the Hephaestus familia ever had a Mage, hmmm? Would be interesting to see where you go from here."
I tapped on the counter while I waited patiently for her to finish. "I have that. I have that. Let me run back to the familia and draw from my account and get my onee-san so she can escort me back- I wouldn't feel confident carrying that much coin around in my pocket."
The old crone grinned. "You better hurry up, child, I'm going to be closing soon. I need my beauty sleep after all."
"Come on, come on, she said she was going to close up her shop soon!"
I was tearing down 3rd Avenue with Tsubaki laughing as she followed behind me with a large sack slung over her shoulders. "Relax, will you? I might not know Lenoa-san as well as the Mages of the city do, but if she was going to sell you something worth bringing me around to escort you back, then she isn't just close up shop and tell you to come back tomorrow."
"Go away. The store is closed."
I felt dead inside and couldn't help but curse under my breath and give a little annoyed stomp. Tsubaki looked a little sheepish as she scratched the back of her head. "Ah, my mistake, Bell-kichi-"
She was cut off when the door opened up and Lenoa stuck her head out with a toothy grin. "Just kidding, come on in here dearie."
You old troll!
[That same night]
"Firm is the body that- ohhhhhhhhhhhhh sssssshhhhhiiiiiiiiiiittttttt!!!!!"
[30 minutes later]
"Firm is the body that- ffffffffffffuuuuuuuuucccckkkkkk mmmmmeeeeeee!!!!"
[1 hour later]
"Firm is- ooooohhhhh mmmuuutthhheerrr fffuuuccckkkeeeerrr!!!"
[2 Hours later]
There was a knock at the door.
"Bell-kichi. It is one in the morning. Go to bed. Better yet, use that Grimoire already, just having it in the compound unused is making me antsy, which is strange because we have tens of billions of valis in weapons and materials here and- just... get it used, please? Your Tsubaki-nee-chan can't sleep with that book in the compound!"
"There are two types of Magic. The first is what certain races are born with. The second, called Falna, is granted by a deity's blessing."
"The latter is, in a sense, a form of self-expression: What are you interested in? What do you accept? What do you like? What do you hate? What do you desire? What do you regret? What do you worship? What do you swear as your most solemn vow? What is your heart truly long for?"
"The trigger has been within you from the start... shall we begin, Joshua Winters/Bell Cranel?"
"Question: What is Magic to me?"
An immovable object. An unstoppable force. A guiding hand. A mending touch. Magic is everything because it can be anything. While people might have their limits, Magic does not. If there is a problem, Magic can be the solution.
"Question: What sort of thing is Magic to me?"
Magic is the battlefield- wars can be won or lost based on how much firepower one can bring. It is the battlefield itself- even the strongest in the world can be brought low by a middling mage if the opportunity presents itself.
"Question: What do I seek from Magic?"
I... I seek control. Control over myself, over my situation. I strive to find some way to anchor myself to this work, always seeking out the next step forward lest I be swept away, like a leaf on the wind. I seek power not for the sake of power, but for the sake of those who are depending on me to make a measurable difference in the dark days to come. I want to cage lightning in a bottle and use it to light my way forward.
"Question: Is that all?"
No. Not at all. There is just so much more I seek, but deep down I know that all of those things will come to me in time. Would he be happy, Bell Cranel? Would that heroic dreamer, that child, would he be proud to look upon me and see the boy I am right now, and the man I'll become tomorrow?
"You worry too much about things that have no bearing. You are one. You always have been. You always will be. Stop being a worrywart and look towards the future- save who you can, save who you want, and be the Man you wish to be."
I guess... that's all I can do, huh?
[3 Weeks Later]
Okay, so, newsflash- magic is hard, but these were still low-powered spells so I felt more comfortable trying them out; even if Lenoa assured me that the Songwood could handle the Ignis Faatus of the spells I was working on... if it was just pain and no damage, then I might as well just do it internally until I can at least get the weaves down well enough. It is slow going, but the pain is something that is temporary- a 30 Million valis stave should be for forever.
Especially since I blew almost all of my money; I still needed to save up an additional 15 Million valis for my new bow, and since I was now keeping myself to the 11th through 14th floors for Lili and Naaza, my cash flow dropped from 500,000 or more per dive down to 100,000 after being split three ways with the familia tithes and Guild taxes. Still not a bad haul, however.
"Lili! Naaza! Group them up and then I'll knock them down!" I call out from the rear, and the Pallum and Cheinthrope begin herding the monsters until they formed a big, beautiful cluster, and I leaped up into the air and landed in the center of them as my companions backpedaled swiftly.
"Storm Circle!" I hollered out the name of my new Super Short Chant spell, and everything within 15 meters of me crackles with static, and a half-second later lightning surged across the ground and snaked into the bodies of my enemies; the orcs seized up while the imps died outright.
As I retreated back to my original position, Liliruca and Naaza slipped back into the clump of monsters and began slaughtering them as they tried to overcome to paralysis I'd inflicted upon them.
That was my magic, my unique magic, personal to me. No one else in the world would ever have a spell like this, and it brought warmth to my heart. At least, until some egg-head over in "Magic Town" heard about it and decided to shit on my parade and come up with their own version of it and then sell it to the masses- that was how most spells were made according to Lenoa.
Storm Circle was a Small-Area battlefield control magic that dealt a small amount of electrical damage while causing a powerful paralysis to set into place; it sacrificed killing power for area-of-effect crowd control that was strong enough to paralyze even Level 2 Adventurers who didn't have Abnormal Resist of at least H or better. It had a maximum radius of 15 meters, but if I concentrated and kept the spell in close down to its minimum range of 2 meters, then I could give even Tsubaki quite the shock.
It wouldn't do much more than make her stumble, but for a Level 2 with a Super Short Chant spell to do even that? That was damn impressive; it lacked the kill potential of Firebolt, especially without the Argonaut skill to back it up, but it gave me a much-needed too in my toolkit.
It was my Crowd Control, my Keep-Away, and my Kill-Setup.
Everything I needed and more, and I got it for the low, low, price of 90 Million valis.
My purse was crying, of that, there was no doubt.
"Alright girls, let's clean up here and head on back! I don't know about you, but I feel like stopping by the Hostess of Fertility; Hephaestus-sama has really talked it up, and I can't wait to give it a try."
"Ah, Lili has eaten there before with Naaza-chan. It was very good."
As the girls chattered on about what they ate the last time they went there, I just wondered if Syr was a thing yet. Truth be told I'd been avoiding the place for over two years now, but I need to bite the bullet and actually look; while Freya might not know about me yet, nothing good would come from sitting back and letting her plot if she did.
Besides, my Goddess talked up Mamma Mia's Shepard's Pie, and I'd like to taste it for myself- the canteen at the Smithing District is nice, but I'm feeling like something a little bit different.