Author's note: Sorry for the delay, due to an incident I was away from my computer, and that's where the chapters are stored. I just got back now and hadn't scheduled it to post.
Three days. It had been four days since hell broke loose on the eighteenth floor and three days since Hachiman woke up at the Hephaestus Familia headquarters. His body, soaked in elite potions and boosted by the vitality from his skills, no longer protested with pain. Only a slight muscle stiffness remained, a stubborn reminder of the battle. Tomorrow, he would return to the Dungeon.
For now, however, he was at home, immersed in a new kind of challenge. Sitting at the kitchen table, the smell of hot metal hung in the air as he engraved complex symbols onto small iron plates with the tip of a projected needle. How does this development ability, 'Rune I', actually work? he thought, his brow furrowed in concentration. I need more options, something I can use and discard without always having to rely on Unlimited Blade Works.
As his fingers worked with precision, his mind drifted to the previous day, a whirlwind of fire, metal, and expectations.
(Start of Flashback – Hephaestus Familia Forge)
The heat of Hephaestus's private forge embraced him like an old friend. Before him, spread across the workbenches, gleamed ten kilograms of the purest Mithril – a treasure worth a fortune.
"That right there cost about twenty million Valis, kid," Tsubaki's voice pulled him from his trance. She ruffled his hair with a friendly noogie. "You'd better make every coin worth it! With your current success rate, if we get two decent rings out of all this, I'll be making a profit!"
"Don't put pressure on him, Tsubaki," Hephaestus intervened, her voice a soft counterpoint to her captain's enthusiasm. "Hachiman-kun, take all the time you need. If you need anything, we're here."
Hachiman took a deep breath, the weight of their investment and trust settling on his shoulders. He began. First, the brute task: transforming all that shining mass into identical 30-gram rings. Bracelets would offer more space for runes, he pondered for a moment, but rings are familiar territory. Besides, pragmatism won out: messing up a bracelet would mean an immense waste of material. Messing up a ring was a smaller setback. It was a simple, almost foolish reason, but it was his.
Hours passed to the rhythm of hammer and fire, resulting in a mountain of over three hundred perfectly shaped Mithril rings. Now, the real magic began. Projecting a thin, sturdy needle, Hachiman initiated the meticulous process of engraving the storage runes on the inside of each piece.
Tsubaki watched with wide eyes, like a child before a magic trick. For Hephaestus, however, it was different. The Goddess of the Forge saw beyond the technique. She watched, fascinated, as Hachiman's symbols seemed to rewrite the reality of the metal, sewing a subspace within a mundane object. It was a form of creation magic that she, the patroness of blacksmiths, had never witnessed, especially not from the hands of a mortal.
The work was a nightmare. Each mistake was a small disaster: some rings simply crumbled to dust under the pressure of his mana; on others, the enchantment refused to take hold, sizzling and dying. Even with Medea's knowledge whispering in his mind and the 'Mystery' skill guiding his instincts, what he was attempting was like asking an apprentice to paint a masterpiece.
Frustration grew with each failure. It was only on the fortieth ring that something changed. A steady, blue glow emanated from within the small piece. He picked it up, feeling the connection. It worked. One cubic meter of storage space, contained within.
A weary smile appeared on his face. Boosted by the first success and several mana potions, he dove back into the work. Repetition brought familiarity, and his success rate began to climb, slowly but surely. The sun rose and set, and the forge remained lit.
When he finally stopped, exhausted to the bone, night had already blanketed Orario. Before him, the result of his effort: 25 functional spatial rings.
"Twenty-five!" Tsubaki laughed, a maniacal and exultant sound. "Do you have any idea how much money this will make us?! The elite familias will kill each other for one of these!" She paused, her mind already racing. "But... what if everyone buys one? How do we maintain sales?"
Hachiman gave a small, sly smile. "I thought of that. Twenty-three of them have an 'expiration date'. The enchantment will dissipate in a year." He picked up the two remaining rings, handing one to Hephaestus and the other to Tsubaki. "These are permanent. A gift for you."
Tsubaki's smile turned into a laugh of admiration. "You devil! A business devil! This guarantees recurring customers!" She gathered the 23 commercial rings with a feverish glint in her eyes. "Excuse me, I'm going to plan our market domination strategy!" And with that, she ran off, already dreaming of mountains of Valis.
A comfortable silence filled the forge. Hephaestus approached, her face flushed from the heat and perhaps something more. She hugged him, resting her head on his chest. Hachiman, still adjusting to this divine proximity, felt his own face heat up but returned the embrace gently. To go from a hated pariah to... this. Dating a goddess. Life is truly a joke.
"You're unbelievable, Hachiman-kun," she whispered against his chest. "To create something like this... it's a magic I've never seen."
For the first time in a long while, Hachiman allowed himself a moment of pure pride. "Just you wait," he said, his voice firm with newfound confidence. "In the future, I'll do even more incredible things."
After a few more moments of affection, he said his goodbyes. He knew that Aqua, dismissed earlier to avoid distractions, must be worried by now. Hephaestus reluctantly let him go, giving him a soft kiss before he left. Upon arriving home, he found Aqua sleeping soundly, clutching a pile of jewels like a small dragon. He smiled and finally allowed himself to rest.
(End of Flashback)
Hachiman finished engraving the last rune. Today, he had forced himself to use his own knowledge, without the crutch of Unlimited Blade Works. It was harder, slower, but the learning felt more real. After a pile of useless iron plates, he succeeded: one contained the crackling essence of a Thunder Blade; another, the defensive concept of Rho Aias.
He went to the backyard for a test. He threw the shield plate and activated it. A translucent barrier of mana hummed in the air. Next, he activated the lightning rune. A bolt of lightning crackled and struck the shield, which shone brightly for a second before shattering.
The blow could kill an unprepared Level 1. The shield would withstand an attack from a weak Level 2. Satisfied with his prototypes, he decided he deserved a break.
"Aqua, I'm heading out!" he shouted into the house.
"Where to?! I'm coming with you!" her voice came from the living room, followed by her bouncing figure.
"The Hostess of Fertility. And no, you're not," he answered firmly. As much as his heart softened for her, the punishment for her disobedience in the Dungeon still stood. "You need to understand that you can't just do whatever you feel like. At least for now."
Aqua pouted dramatically, ready for a scene.
"I'll bring you back something delicious," he relented a little. The mention of food seemed to placate her, and she huffed, defeated.
The Hostess of Fertility was as vibrant as ever. Hachiman sat at his usual table in the corner, and soon a radiant Syr approached, her eyes shining in a way that almost swallowed him whole.
"Our hero! What will it be today?"
He ordered the best meal in the house and another one to go. Shortly after, Syr and Ryuu brought the dishes. As Ryuu leaned down to place the food on the table, the backs of their hands touched for a fraction of a second.
Shit! Hachiman snatched his hand back as if he'd been shocked, expecting an explosion of Ryuu's contained anger. But nothing happened. She froze for an instant, then continued her work in silence. If one looked closely, however, they would notice the tips of her elven ears and her cheeks were tinged with a faint blush. Beside her, Syr noticed. A foxy, all-seeing smile played on her lips.
Syr and Ryuu sat across from him, something that was becoming a habit. Syr began to talk excitedly about how Hachiman's feats were resonating throughout Orario and how he was getting closer and closer to the path of a hero. Hachiman simply nodded, saying he was just trying to survive.
It was Ryuu who cut through the small talk. "Are you still without partners, Hachiman-san?" she asked, her tone serious. "The deeper you go, the more dangerous it gets. A lone adventurer..."
"I can handle it," he interrupted, but without arrogance. "I'll have companions in the future. But for now, I'm fine."
Ryuu frowned. "When are you going back? And to where?"
"Tomorrow," he answered honestly. "I plan on checking out the nineteenth floor."
Her expression turned grave. She took a deep breath, as if making a decision that could not be reversed. "Then I will ask Mama Mia for a leave of absence. And I will go with you tomorrow."
Hachiman choked on his food. "What? You don't have to, Ryuu, I..." He tried to refuse, but the determined look in her eyes silenced him. That look would not accept a "no." He sighed and eventually nodded.
It was at that moment that the taunts began. A nearby table, occupied by four adventurers, started mocking him loudly.
"Look, it's the 'Dragon Slayer'. Total fake. Must've used some expensive item from Hephaestus." "His familia doesn't even exist. He's just some lucky weirdo."
The tavern's noise subsided. One of the hecklers, a man with a yellow afro and feline features, stood up and walked towards their table. Hachiman recognized the emblem on his clothes: a bow in the center of a sun. Apollo Familia. Again?
"Hey, fake," the man said with a sneer. He turned to the girls. "Instead of wasting your time with him, why don't you come have a chat with real men?"
The man's hand was about to touch Syr's shoulder. Before Ryuu could even move, Hachiman acted. With a casual motion, he picked up a chicken bone from his plate, infused it with a spark of 'Single Strike', and threw it. The bone cut through the air like a bullet, hitting the man in the chest with a dull THUD. The adventurer was thrown backward, crashing into his companions' table and falling to the floor, writhing in pain.
Three of his friends jumped from their chairs, drawing their weapons. But Hachiman was already on his feet. In the blink of an eye, he moved between them. A step to the side to avoid a sword, the palm of his hand striking a chin. A low spin, kicking the back of another's knee. A swift blow with his knuckles to the third one's solar plexus. Three bodies fell to the floor in a tangle of limbs, neutralized before they even knew what happened.
The last member stood up. Purple hair, arrogant expression. Hyakinthos Clio, the Level 3 captain of the Apollo Familia.
"So you want to play too?" he growled, his sword slashing through the air in a swift attack.
To Hachiman, whose stats far surpassed those of a common Level 2, Hyakinthos's movements seemed clear, almost slow. He dodged and blocked every blow with boring ease. After a wider thrust from the captain, Hachiman saw his opening. His fist, glowing with the energy of another 'Single Strike', came up in a perfect uppercut that connected squarely with Hyakinthos's chin. The captain flew backward, colliding with and destroying the table where his familia had been sitting.
Hyakinthos got up, furious and ready for more, when a loud crack of wood made the entire tavern shudder.
It was Mama Mia. She had come out of the kitchen, and her fist had cracked the counter she was leaning on. Her gaze was lethal.
"Apollo Familia," her voice was low but carried the weight of a mountain. "Pick up your members and get the hell out of my establishment. Now."
Even blinded by rage, Hyakinthos didn't dare challenge her. The reputation of the former Level 6 adventurer was a legend. He and his men dragged themselves out, shooting daggers at Hachiman with their eyes.
Hachiman bowed to Mama Mia. "I apologize for the mess. I will pay for all the damages."
"You'd better pay," she replied, exasperated, but perhaps with a hint of respect. "Next time, at least take the fight outside!"
After confirming with Ryuu to meet at six in the morning at the Dungeon's entrance, Hachiman picked up Aqua's food and went home, leaving behind a tavern full of whispers, a thoughtful elven waitress, and the promise of a very interesting next day.